The Hate That Wasn't In His Eyes
by Sodapops
Summary: If Gen Shishio had willed it, Karasumori would had given him the power to survive. But for that to happen Gen first needed a reason to want to stay. What could that reason be? Eventual GenYoshi
1. Evaded Answers

**Warning:** If you haven't read pass manga chapter 95 or watched pass anime episode 37 (airing on February 12, 2011 in Adult Swim in the U.S.A.) then this fanfiction is not for you.

**A/N:** Just thought I try my hand at writing for another anime/manga fandom. See where it takes me. As you can guess this is a Gen/Yoshimori fanfic. I plan to take this through the actual storyline (manga mainly) up until getting to –_that moment– _and then some. I'm sure you know which moment I'm referring to, if not then read the summary again to get the hint. Of course, it's only assumable that there is going to be some tweaks to the story and added content. But how else are we expected to try and save a certain character from his fate?

Also, be warned that this is just the introductory chapter. As so I'm going to take you through some key events in the manga that I'll like you to focus on as they will be fundamental to the rest of the story. So bear with me. But enough talk. You'll understand better reading the chapter than me explaining it; so more afterwards.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_Maybe I'm a dreamer_

_Maybe I'm misunderstood_

_Maybe you're not seeing_

_The side of me you should_

_Maybe I'm crazy_

_Maybe I'm the only one_

_Maybe I'm just out of touch_

_Maybe I've just had enough_

_And maybe it's time to change._

'_**Maybe' by Sick Puppies**_

* * *

**Chapter 1: Evaded Answers**

It all really started at a day like any other with Gen tired of being stared at like an item on display by the girls of his classroom. They agitated him with questions about his life and his past; two very sore subjects for him.

In all honesty he didn't have much of a life to begin with. Nothing to brag about. He sometimes believed that he'd be better off dead anyways. Gen wasn't quite sure that a monster like him deserved to live in the first place. In fact, his job was probably the only thing that kept him alive. It was the only thing he had after all. If he didn't have that then…

He preferred not to think about it.

Yet, of course, thinking about his current life wasn't half as bad as thinking about his past. Oh how he wished he could simply forget it and not be reminded of it ever again. Maybe then he could go through life with only thinking of himself as an outcast instead of the monster that he knew he was.

It was futile though. The memory of past events were forever engraved in his brain; haunting him every day to make sure he never forgot why he didn't deserve to be happy. And what was worst was that his classmates wouldn't allow him any peace of mind either.

Gen sat on his desk, face hidden among his folded arms as he tried to look as unapproachable as he could. Yet nothing worked. His classmates just didn't want to get the hint.

A group of girls surrounded his desk, asking question after question even though he had yet to say a single word to answer any of them. He would have thought it'd be obvious by the way he buried his head further in his arms that he didn't want to speak to any of them but no such luck. In fact his actions seem to egg them on further.

Questions like "Shishio-kun, is it true that you live by yourself?", "How does it feel living on your own?", "What do you do for food?", "Ah that's right, won't you tell us about your previous school?" surfaced all around him. The girls had smiles on their faces like they somehow enjoyed reminding him of his misery.

And oh how it aggravated him.

Not being able to take the feeling of being cornered anymore, Gen abruptly stood up and left the classroom. He was slowly losing his restraint on his anger and he wasn't sure that he would be able to suppress it enough to not lash out at his classmates. He'd probably hate himself even more if he ended up hurting another girl so escaping was inevitably the only solution he could afford.

Gen made his way toward the roof of the school as he was in desperate need of some solace in order to calm down. Yet when he made it to the very top of the school he found himself staring at the back of the Kekkaishi he was assigned to protect.

'_Why is he in that corner?'_ Gen asked himself.

Yoshimori, the Kekkaishi in question, had rolled himself in a compressed ball with a pillow clutched tightly to his chest, surrounding himself with a kekkai and looking every bit like a kicked puppy. It was then that the ayakashi-hybrid remembered how this morning he spotted when that Yukimura girl both insulted the coffee-milk that the other boy always drank and told him off by stating that she didn't want to be seen with him during school hours.

"Tch," like if Gen had time to dwell into that messed up relationship. He shrugged the subject off and made his way to the spot at the center of the roof, not sparing another glance at the other boy.

Gen didn't understand why he even bothered to settle himself on the roof when in reality all he wanted was to be alone. Yet for some reason unknown to him he didn't feel bothered by the Sumimura.

He briefly remembered the Chief speaking of how he thought that his little brother and Gen would be able to get along but the ayakashi-hybrid quickly shook that thought off. Instead, Gen summarized that the reason he didn't feel aggravated was because it was his job to guard the legitimate successor; and therefore Gen felt relaxed because he was doing his job, nothing else.

Of course it would help if the Sumimura stopped his needless moaning and quieted down. But yet again, Gen couldn't be bothered to speak his mind. On the other hand, Yoshimori continued his pitiful whimpers for a while longer until he was eventually dissatisfied with the response he was getting. And unlike the other boy, the Sumimura was never afraid to speak out his thoughts.

"Well," Yoshimori started in an accusing tone, "Aren't you going to ask me 'what's the matter'?"

"Do you want me to ask?" Gen questioned flatly.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…mhmm."

Gen deadpanned at the other boy's timid response. Yet with a sigh Gen decided to indulge the other boy anyway. "So uh, do you like that girl or what?"

"UUHUH WHAAT!" responded Yoshimori incoherently as he bolted up into a sitting position. "You don't know what you're talking about! Wh-Who is 'that girl' anyway?" he questioned doing a poor job at hiding his obvious distress. _'Why is he suddenly getting to the point!'_ he inwardly grieved.

"That is Yukimura, of course" replied Gen unbothered by the other's reaction as he also moved to sit up.

"Who would care about a girl like her!" said Yoshimori as he continued to panic. "What are you talking about?"

'_Hmp, even the kekkai is unstable'_ Gen observed with boredom as the other continued to freak out. With a sigh Gen laid back on the roof and closed his eyes as he got lost in his own musings. "I don't understand what you see in her anyways" he muttered under his breath.

"Are you kidding me?" Yoshimori shouted in Tokine's defense. "She's great!"

"I thought you didn't care?" challenged Gen giving the flustered Sumimura the 'you are busted' look before facing away again. "To me, they are just annoying anyways" he admitted. "Things like girls… just make things hectic."

"W-What?" asked Yoshimori sounding confused. "Could it be that your preferences are-"

The Kekkaishi never got to finish his question though as Gen rushed in to make another statement. "Well girls do have a better scent than boys do" Gen said cutting Yoshimori off and effectively distracting him with another confession.

"You, eww; you mean you actually smell people you perv!" exclaimed Yoshimori scrunching his face in a disgusted expression.

"It's not that!" defended a tick off Gen suddenly sitting up as well. "I just got a superior sense of smell that's all" he stated, facing away in order to calm himself down. "It's actually kind of a pain sometimes" he admitted yet again feeling burdened by his powers like he usually did.

"Um, well…" Yoshimori started, not knowing how they suddenly ended up in this depressing atmosphere but trying to figure out a way to lighten the mood again. He smirked when he thought he came up with the perfect thing to say. "Maybe you'll like to try smelling my socks!" he teased stretching the last syllable.

"Shut up!"

**~0~0~0~**

In the end they ended up throwing jabs at each other for about half an hour before Gen found himself composed enough to head toward his next class. It was funny and kind of ironic when Gen thought about it.

He fled his classroom because he didn't want to be disturbed by anyone and because he thought he needed some peace and quiet; yet he spent most of his time arguing with Yoshimori. The funny thing being that as they parted ways Gen did not feel the least bit agitated. In fact, weird as it may be, he could almost swear that he found some semblance of tranquility in those 30 minutes or so he spent up on the rooftop.

Gen couldn't understand why though and it bothered him to no end. It wasn't like they were having a nice conversation either. Some of the comments exchanged were even derogatory toward one another as Yoshimori kept implying that Gen did weird stuff like going to the Kendo Club after practice to smell their stench, while Gen busied himself by reminding Yoshimori of how he didn't compare to a Kekkaishi of Masamori's caliber.

There was even the time when Gen had almost let something about himself slip. That enough was reason enough to put him in a distressful situation. But it didn't, and even so Gen was quick enough to distract Yoshimori with something else when he had started to catch on. Yoshimori's unfinished question was left unanswered with none to be the wiser.

It certainly wasn't the nicest experience Gen ever had but for a minute there it did gave him a sense of normalcy he wasn't accustomed to. Maybe it was because their uneducated banter distracted him from his real problems, if only for a minute.

Whatever it was though, it probably had a lot to do with why Gen decided to tag along after school when the Sumimura asked for his help in tailing Tokine and that guy many considered the Prince of Central High. It proved to be the right decision to make in the end since they got to learn the name of the organization that was after Karasumori as a result.

Kokubourou was the name.

Their little detour proved to be somewhat entertaining as well. It would be a lie if Gen said he didn't find it interesting to observe how Yoshimori broke down every time the Yukimura girl said something that seemed to crush the Sumimura's chances with said female. That and Gen was also able to garner some level of respect for Tokine.

She was indeed a scary girl.

Yet whatever semblance of peace Gen had during the day proved to be for naught as the night came. Then, as he diligently continued to slash and claw down the ayakashi that dared set foot on Karasumori soil, he was back to being considered Gen Shishio, the monster.

It was never more obvious than when he saw Yoshimori's angry eyes glaring at him as Gen finished yet another lowly ayakashi. Gen could tell those eyes were judging him and the appearance of his clawed hands, just like everybody else did. He chastised himself for even considering that there could be a possibility that Yoshimori of all people would view him as normal, no matter how small that hope had been.

'_I am nothing more than a monster in human flesh. I should have learned to accept that by now'_ Gen thought in reprimand to himself.

"Hey! That was my prey!" Yoshimori yelled, pointing an angry finger. "Don't cut in line!"

But even if Yoshimori's unrestraint glare affected Gen, he wasn't about to show it. So composing himself and putting on a brave face, he retorted to the other boy's claim as unemotionally as he could.

"Useless. The prey belongs to the first one to catch it. On top of that, look closely" he said holding out the dead ayakashi in his hand. "The part I caught is bigger than yours."

"Shut up!" whined Yoshimori quickly rising to the taunt. "And stop sitting on top of my kekkai!"

From afar Tokine could only shake her head at the childish display she was witnessing.

"Those guys sure are energetic" commented Hakubi from beside her.

"Yeah…" agreed Tokine and that was all she could let out as she sensed a huge ayakashi coming out from behind in what it hoped to be a surprise attack. Yet as she turned to meet the challenge head on she was surprise to see it quickly being lacerated by the always swift Shishio.

Sparing on glance at the marred body that landed next to her, she let her eyes bore unto the victor's retreating back.

"Gen, you're right shoulder" she pointed out in her well practiced business tone.

The boy in question gave a momentary glance at the scratch on his shoulder before continuing on his way. "No problem" he answered to be polite.

Dissatisfied, Tokine pursed her lips as Gen kept walking. It kinda irked her how the boy was always reluctant to make eye contact whenever she spoke to him. So hoping to tackle that habit she decided to pursue further conversation. "Gen, your clothes are always getting ruined. Are you okay?"

"I still have 20 sets of clothes left" answered Gen hurriedly before jumping to the nearest tree, fleeing the premises.

Of course it only made Tokine sigh in disappointment. _'He might be talking a little more now but… it still feels like he is avoiding me'_ she lamented. "Well that's fine" she mumbled while turning to the ayakashi corpse. "I better clean this up first."

Meanwhile Gen propped himself on a branch of another tree as he not for the first time chided himself for not being able to do anything besides destroying. One of the reasons Gen didn't stay beside Tokine as she did her work was because he didn't want to see the judgmental look he was sure would be on her face because of his powers. After the incident with the Sumimura, Gen wasn't sure he could bear watching the hate in someone else's eyes on the same night.

Gen didn't have enough time to lose himself in his sorrow however as a scolding voice behind him called for his attention.

"Hey Shishio, don't let Tokine do all the cleaning up" said Yoshimori making Gen grit his teeth.

'_Why does he feel the need to criticize me?'_ Gen screamed in his head. But on the outside he put on a passive face and turned his head to look at the Sumimura who was suspended in the air because of a kekkai. "I can't use the jutsu you guys use" he stressed as if it should have already been obvious.

"Don't say stuff like that" retorted Yoshimori adapting a no-nonsense tone in his voice. "You are always treating Tokine as if she were an idiot!" he accused making Gen turn his face away.

"…I don't, think of her that way" he said with some sadness seeping through his words. And it was true, he thought Tokine was diligent, hardworking and smart. Traits he was sure garner praise easily from other people. _'Traits I'm sure no one would value from me no matter how much I try'_ he thought with resentment.

Steeling himself again from his momentary show of weakness, Gen tried to make himself sound indifferent about the whole subject. "But… however she thinks of it is her own problem. It has nothing to do with me."

However, his indifference didn't earn him any favors with the Sumimura. "What kind of attitude is that! It doesn't matter around me but if you act that way around Tokine I'll kill you-"

"Why are you so concerned about that girl anyway?" Gen shot back, gripping the trunk of the tree as hard as he could to keep himself from physically attacking the other boy as he wished he could. _'He was going to say that he'd kill me like the monster I am wasn't he?'_

So instead of mutilating the other boy like Gen wanted to, he instead settled for attacking with words. "I heard that the Sumimura's and the Yukimura's were in conflict. Am I wrong?"

This caught Yoshimori completely off guard. "Eh? Uh. Shut up!" he countered weakly getting visibly flustered.

Gen stared at him for a moment longer before deciding it wasn't worth it. He had a job to do after all. "Whatever" he muttered before rushing off in search of more ayakashi.

**~0~0~0~**

The very next day had Gen Shishio waking up in a bad mood. Not even his meditation exercises were enough to calm him down; and the fact that there was a girl stalking him around the school halls was not helping his mood either.

'_What's wrong with that girl?'_ he asked himself in aggravation.

Yurina Kanda was still troubled by the dangerous looking transfer student from the neighboring class. With his straight spiky hair, his sharp beast-like eyes, his super tan skin and that stench of blood; she knew had to be evil. _'If only I could catch him doing something bad then I could tell Sumimura-kun about him.'_

Her train of thought, however, got cut short when said transfer student turned his head to glare at her direction making her run in fright because he was _that_ scary.

'_Ha, I knew it'_ Gen thought to himself. _'One glance and she scram like everybody else does. Even someone like her can see me for what I'm really am, a monster'. _Yet it wasn't a victory Gen was exactly proud of. In fact he probably would have been happier if he wasn't right. _'But I'm not foolish enough to think otherwise.'_

Already feeling fed up with the people around him he made a turn toward the staircase fully intent on heading to the roof for some peace and quiet. However when he got there he found it to be already occupied by the legitimate successor of the Sumimura clan, surrounded by a kekkai as usual.

In annoyance Gen briefly wondered if said Kekkaishi was ever in his classroom taking his lessons like he should have been. But whatever, Gen wasn't going to let the other's presence dissuade him from what he originally wanted to do. So instead of turning around, Gen settled himself as comfortably as he could on his side of the roof. If Yoshimori had a problem with it then Gen would close his eyes and ignore him. He was _not _going to be pushed around.

After a minute or two of tense silence, at least from Gen's perspective, it was finally Yoshimori who spoke up.

"So? Are you planning to talk to me or are you just here to take a nap?" asked Yoshimori calmly without a trace of animosity in his voice. "I got an extra pillow in my bag if you want."

"I, ah…" started Gen but he didn't know how to finish it. He was taken aback by the other boy's carefree attitude that he didn't know what to make of the unexpected friendly gesture. "No thanks, I'm fine" he responded, looking away to hide how awkward the situation made him feel.

"Alright then" said Yoshimori while yawning before rolling to side and closing his eyes. "I'm gonna go ahead and sleep the morning away so if you're still around by lunch break please wake me up so I don't miss it. They have coffee-milk today". And with that he was effortlessly taken by his dreams.

Gen could only stare in amazement at how easily it was for the other boy to shut himself from the world. _'How can someone act so peaceful at a time like this? And why is he suddenly being nice to me? Wasn't he mad at me before?'_

"Grr, this has to be a trick!" vented out Gen irritably as he griped the sides of his head tightly to suppress his aggravation. Gen just couldn't understand how Yoshimori could simply drop his guard around him and doze off like if he wasn't with dangerous company.

He turned his head to glare at the Kekkaishi, but as he took in more of the peaceful expression on Yoshimori's sleeping face, Gen's anger died down until eventually the only emotion he felt was a feeling of loss.

Gen brought his hands down to his lap and stared at his open palms, lost in thought. _'Wasn't this what I wanted?'_ he asked himself. He remembered grumbling a moment ago about how everyone either antagonized him or ran away in fear because of what he was but Yoshimori was doing neither.

Everything about the other boy just left him feeling confused. Gen didn't know how he should act or feel in a situation like this. Maybe he was being weak-minded but Gen couldn't say that he totally hated whatever it was that was happening around him at the moment. And so, against his better judgment, he placed both hands behind his head and laid back down on the roof's floor.

He left one eye open to temporarily study the boy beside him with the corner of his eye. Yoshimori had a mop of messy black hair, creamy skin and was a tad short for his age; but all around he was a normal looking guy. Gen didn't understand how someone like that could make him feel normal as well but that didn't stop it from being true.

Right this moment, with the Sumimura napping only a few inches away from him without a sign of fear, Gen couldn't help feeling just like that. Normal. Like any other typical fourteen year old. And it felt rather… nice. He supposed that word would cover it for now.

Gen wasn't foolish enough to believe that Yoshimori trusted him or anything but he was willing to pretend at least for today that the world wasn't trying to reject him like it usually did. He wanted to enjoy this peace he felt, no matter how fake it was, as long as he could. And so he stayed up there on the rooftop until it was lunch hour.

Figuring that slashing the kekkai away was a good wakeup call as any, Gen didn't look back as he left the vicinity. He was feeling as ready as he could be to face the world's harsh reality again; hopefully in a better mood.

Yet by the time night came all the hope Gen had built up about things remaining peaceful went down the drain the moment he used his claws to dispose of the first ayakashi of the night. Yoshimori was back at being angry at him, throwing dismissive remarks every now and then.

For the most part Gen tried avoiding having to be in the same area as the shorter boy. That's until said boy felled in the pool as a result of whatever half-baked plan he was trying to pull. Gen couldn't keep himself from remarking how things like that wouldn't happen to more capable Kekkaishi like the Chief; a comment that earned him another angry sneer from the drenched boy.

Not thinking himself capable of keeping his composure at the way those eyes continued to judge him; Gen gave an indifferent "whatever" and sped off to hunt for more ayakashi as a source of distraction.

**~0~0~0~**

The following day when Gen climbed all the way to the school's rooftop he found it completely desolated. _'He's not here yet… good. Guess I'll be able to relax for now.'_

So thinking nothing of it Gen settled himself on his usual spot and rested the back of his head on his hands. Yet despite his earlier thoughts, Gen wasn't able to relax. In fact he kept shying glances at the empty space where he grew accustomed to seeing Yoshimori in. This only frustrated Gen more.

Why was he acting like if he wanted the other boy to be there? Gen didn't understand it but he knew it was wrong and messed up. _'Why should I care where he is? He is of no importance to me. In fact I should be happy that he's not here. This way I won't have to see the hate in his eyes'_ he tried convincing himself.

Yet even though Gen tried to make his brain see reason he could not keep himself from feeling perturbed. The thought that maybe the reason he was restless was because he was actually looking forward to spending time with Yoshimori never crossed his mind.

See, Gen Shishio was indisputably a loner, but it wasn't so because it was in his nature to be like that; it was because the world had imposed it upon him. All because he was an ayakashi-hybrid. Yet that didn't mean that Gen wanted to be by himself; in fact, remaining alone for the rest of his life was one of Gen's biggest fears. A fear that for the most part remained quenched when he was sharing the roof with the other boy.

The company of someone, no matter how ill-suited it was, always helped to silence his troubled thoughts.

Even if Gen wasn't aware of it, unconsciously he knew the reason of his despair. So standing up from his spot, he took measured strides as indifferently as he could toward Yoshimori's classroom. All while continuously repeating to himself that he was only doing it because it was his responsibility to look after the Sumimura.

When he was near his destination though, he stumbled upon the girl that had been stalking him a day earlier. He noticed that she came from the room he was heading into so he figured that she must be Yoshimori's classmate. And considering that he couldn't catch Yoshimori's scent anywhere in the building he figured that she would be as good a candidate to ask as any.

But when he approached her all he saw was unadulterated fear that he had to look away so that he wouldn't feel disheartened. He didn't want to scare her away before he could ask his question so he stayed a fair distance away and spoke up without making eye contact.

Yurina Kanda was terrified. She gripped the doorframe tightly as she tried to control her shaking knees. However, she soon found herself to be more surprised than worried when the wild looking student addressed her. As far as she heard, Gen had never spoken to anyone in the school, at least according to the information she received from Hiromu Tabaka, the school's self-proclaimed databank. Yet somehow, even though Gen didn't ask by name, she knew that he was referring to Sumimura-kun so she supplied the answer he was looking for.

Gen didn't look pleased with the knowledge that Yoshimori was absent because of a cold. In fact Yurina could tell that Gen's face fell a little. But he sighed either way before making his departure. Yurina slid to the floor soon afterwards. She didn't know if her sixth sense was to blame but she suddenly felt a resounding sadness in the air. What she did know though, as she stared at Gen's retreating back, was that the whole experience was indeed scary.

When night came it was just him and Tokine taking care of the ayakashi. Oh, and the Chief's grandfather, head of the Sumimura clan, was also there making a scene. Regardless, Gen worked dutifully with Tokine as if the replacement was never there in the first place.

In the end it was a very congested looking Yoshimori covered from head to toe in warm yet heavy looking clothing that saved the day by metsu-ing a large ayakashi. He and his grandfather got into an argument immediately after about who was supposed to be working and who was supposed to stay at home tonight. Gen could only watch from his position atop a tree as the shouting match progressively escalated in volume.

He sighed and took out his mobile phone, taking advantage of the opportunity to ponder on his vexed thoughts. Gen stared at the device in his hands with a contemplative look of his face.

These days no one in the Night Troops ever contacted him, and even though Gen didn't want to let that bother him, it still gave an unsettling feeling to his stomach. He knew that he wasn't necessarily missed or even wanted within the organization but he didn't want to think that it was to the point where they completely forgot about him.

'_Even the Chief hasn't called in a while'_ Gen thought but quickly shook his head to rid himself from further depressing thoughts. _'The Chief is a busy man. There must be a reason why there hasn't been any word'_ he concluded as he pocketed the phone in his pants again. But even so, his train of thought didn't seem to want to stop.

'_How long will I… have to keep hunting ayakashi here?'_ he asked himself briefly remembering how the Chief joked about Gen remaining here forever. _'…it was just a joke, right?' _Gen didn't think he had anything here worth mentioning so he really hoped that the Chief was just joking when he said that. _'But then again, it's not like I have much of anything anywhere to begin with.'_

Gen's self-questioning came to an abrupt halt when he noticed Madarao floating in front of his face. "Gah!" sputtered Gen as he almost lost his balance on the tree branch. This of course made Madarao laugh.

"Hahaha, did I scare you Gen-kun?" the dog asked with obvious mirth in his voice. Not wanting to dignify that with an answer Gen looked away but Madarao took no offense from it. "My, my. As fun as I'm sure teasing you would be I'm actually here to ask a favor of you" he said while pointing his ghostly tail at something below them.

The tanned male followed the direction of the tail and saw Yoshimori laying face down on the floor. That earned a raised eyebrow from Gen.

"Poor Yoshi's fever finally caught up with him and he seems to have collapsed" explained Madarao somewhat mockingly before turning his gaze on Gen again. "And here I was hoping that you be a darling and carry the little one back to his house. You see I doubt old Shige would want to leave the site and I'm afraid that if I send Tokine-chan her grandma will throw a fit. So what do you say, help a pal out?"

Gen stared at the demon dog with scrutiny before jumping down to the ground. _'Might as well'_ he thought. He couldn't have the Chief's little brother getting killed on his watch after all.

Because of how heavily clothed the other boy was, it took some effort to lift Yoshimori's limped body in a position where Gen could carry him on his back. He adjusted Yoshimori's arm around his neck and grabbed the back of the shorter boy's legs to lift him from the ground. Once Gen was sure his charge wouldn't fall he started his trek toward the Sumimura household.

He only took about eighteen steps before the weight on his back started to shift. _'Great, just when I thought I'll be able to finish my task in peace'_ he thought bitterly.

"Uhh… huh! Hey Shishio, how did I end up getting a piggyback ride from you?" asked a nasally voice from behind him. It was obvious that the kid was still very tired.

Exhaling, Gen readied himself for what appeared to be a long trip. "You passed out. Nobody was willing to take you home so I ended up doing it in the end" he replied with practice indifference.

"Oh" replied Yoshimori adjusting his arms on Gen's shoulders. He stayed quiet for a minute or two before asking the question that was plaguing his mind. "So Shishio, what did you think of my performance tonight? Amazing right?"

"Huh?" mumbled a confused Gen not knowing where the other boy was going with this.

"I bet not even Masamomi would be able to get up to work and save the day like I did if he had a fever this high!" proclaimed Yoshimori raising one fist in victory and sounding very cheery through his sickness. "Now that I showed you that I'm superior to my brother in every way, you'll have no reason to keep judging me!"

"W-Wait, what? Judging you?" Gen questioned perplexed. "What exactly are you talking about?"

Yoshimori lowered his fist at this and loosely encircled his arms around Gen's neck again, seeming to be deep in thought as he tried to find the correct words to voice his uncertainties.

"Well, it's like this" started Yoshimori, his volume barely above that of a whisper. "No matter what I do, you always seem to be comparing me to my brother and judging me by his standards. That just makes me depressed. And angry! I don't like it. So I thought that if I outdid myself, and went above my usual one hundred percent, that you would stop looking down on me."

Gen had no idea what to say to that. And even if he did he doubted that he would be able to say it out loud because he felt like his voice was stuck on his throat. But none of that seemed to matter as apparently Yoshimori wasn't finished speaking.

"Look, I know that you are strong and smart. And have unfairly fast speed too! And I know that you are committed to your job and I can appreciate that. But so am I okay? So I would appreciate it if you acted like you knew that!" he muttered the last part a little angrily.

Even so, his words struck a chord so deep within the ayakashi-hybrid that said boy didn't realize that he had stopped moving. Gen face was scrunched up so much that he was thankful that their position didn't allow the other boy to see it.

All this time Gen had filled his head with notions of how Yoshimori's anger was related to the demonic part of him. Gen thought that his powers were what kept him from being accepted by the other boy. He thought that Yoshimori hated him because he viewed Gen as a monster. But now it turns out that the Sumimura's resentment was only geared toward his older brother.

Not only that, Yoshimori had complimented him as well. He had showered Gen with the praises he thought he'd never get to hear coming from the other's mouth. Yoshimori even said that he appreciated Gen, and what was scary was that it actually sounded like he meant it.

But still, before Gen went on losing himself in false hope, the ayakashi-hybrid wanted to make sure he had the facts straight. So finally able to find his voice, Gen worked up the courage to ask the question that would either make or break him.

"So uh, all this time… you weren't judging me at all?"

"Huh? Weren't we talking about my brother?" asked Yoshimori sounding genuinely puzzled. "What do you have to do with it?"

"Tsk, how naïve" retorted Gen indifferently as he resumed his walk. "I should've known you were too soft for that"

And there it was; the answer that Gen needed but wasn't prepared to receive. He knew it would be natural for someone like him to feel happy with such a response but he didn't expect to be overjoyed to the point where he felt like his heart was going to implode.

'_Is it normal for someone to feel this happy over something as silly as not being hated?'_ he asked himself between gritted teeth. He was trying to steel his face to the point where it showed no emotion but it was hard to suppress the feeling rousing through his body. He actually was starting to get frustrated with himself for getting this overworked over something that should have had no meaning to him.

'_But then why do I feel this way?'_ he questioned inwardly. He was confused and maybe a little afraid too. _'Do I even deserve to feel this way?'_ Yet that was another answer that evaded him as Yoshimori started to call for his attention.

"Hey Shishio, do you happen to have any napkins on you?"

"No" Gen answered almost automatically. Then he made the mistake to turn his face toward Yoshimori to ask "Why?"

This time the response wasn't one he was looking forward to.

"Aaa- Aaa- Aachoo!"

"Darn it, you got your snot all over my face! Do you have any idea how gross that is?"

"D-Don't blame it on me! It's your fault for turning your face at the last minute!"

And so their endless banter went on with Yoshimori cleaning Gen's face with his scarf and Gen hurrying his steps to drop off the Kekkaishi as quickly as possible. In the end both remained unaware of how the wheels of their relationship had started to turn.

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N: **Hello again. If you read down to here then that means you have a better understanding of how the rest of the story is going to progress. And yes, this first chapter was a little too paralleled with the manga/anime, but there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. You see, I don't like to abruptly change things. I'm not a rusher. I like to build things up little by little until eventually things progress to the point where I want them. Next chapter will noticeably have more of a divergence from the manga/anime than this one and so on. Don't worry, even if you don't get it now, you will. I promise you that. Anyways, see ya on the next chapter ^^


	2. Hard Words to Forget

**A/N:** This chapter centers more around Yoshimori than the last one did since it is important to get both characters perspectives out. He's fun-er to write than I had previously imagined ^^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_Something has been taken from deep inside of me_

_The secret I've kept locked away, no one can ever see_

_Wounds so deep they never show, they never go away_

_Like moving pictures in my head for years and years they've played_

…

_Sometimes I remember the darkness of my past_

_Bringing back these memories I wish I didn't have_

_Sometimes I think of letting go and never looking back_

_And never moving forward so there'd never be a path_

…

**'**_**Easier to Run' by Linkin Park**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Hard Words to Forget**

Today, like any other day, Yoshimori could be found laying flat on the rooftop. However, unlike what typically occurred in this type of situation, Yoshimori wasn't napping. As it was, he was in too much of a foul mood to sleep. So instead he busied himself with the second best option he had.

Sulking.

You see, Yoshimori had discussed the threat of KoKubourou with his grandfather that morning and the old man had said that they might have to rely on Masamori and the Shadow Organization for this one. But when Yoshimori had questioned why they should ask outsiders for help without first going to the Yukimura's, he got scolded.

"The feud has been going on for over 400 years" Yoshimori mimicked what his grandfather had said in a mocking tone. "'That hole isn't going to be filled' he says. Hmp, stupid grandpa" he mumbled.

All this fighting over which family had the true legitimate successor was pointless to him. Personally Yoshimori could care less about who the real successor was. All he cared about was protecting Tokine. At least _they_ had a good relationship…

**x-x-**(Mini-flashback)**-x-x**

_Daytime!Tokine: Don't talk to me during the day and stop following me around!_

_Nighttime!Tokine: Stop goofing off Yoshimori. Shut up and do your job!_

**x-x-**(End of Mini-flashback)**-x-x**

…Okay, so they didn't have the best relationship but at least they got along way better than their grandparents ever did. And besides, once he seals Karasumori away there won't be any need for this pointless battle anymore. And then Tokine will have to recognize his brilliance.

**x-x-**(Scene 1 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination)**-x-x**

_Future!Tokine: Oh Yoshimori, you did it! Now I see you with brand new eyes. Compared to your greatness, Masamori is only two inches tall! Everyone thinks the same! (And just then a massive crowd of faceless people started to chant 'Masa who? Masa who?'_

**x-x-**(Back to Reality)**-x-x**

"Heheh" chuckled Yoshimori with a wide grin on his face. He couldn't wait for that day to come. He was sure the scenario would play out exactly as he had imagined it. Yoshimori let out a content sigh before turning his face toward the ladder and coming face to face with Gen who was staring at him. "Gah! How long have you been there?"

Yoshimori clutched the fabric of his uniform located in front of his chest as he recovered from a near heart attack. _'Damn it, he must have seen me smiling to myself. It's impossible for a guy to be able to read minds, right?'_ he panicked inwardly. _'Quick, I have to salvage my image'_

"Y-You know, it's okay for you to stay here but don't talk to me! I'm in the middle of thinking about something super important alright?" he spurted, flailing a scolding finger at the other boy the whole time.

Gen just shrugged it off and laid his back on the floor giving the Kekkaishi no further importance. Yoshimori raised his chin up in satisfaction for his accomplishment before also letting his back fall to the floor.

3, 2, 1

"So," started the Sumimura not long after settling down. "What did they serve for lunch today?"

Resisting the urge to face-palm at the blatant contradiction known as Yoshimori, Gen opted for vocalizing the other's faults. "Didn't you just finish telling me not to speak because you had a lot on your mind?"

"Eh? Um, yeah but… Well excuse me for wanting to have a civil conversation!" countered Yoshimori indignantly before rolling himself to face away from the taller male.

'_Hmp. Just perfect! Just when I thought I had enough problems dealing with the bad blood between the Yukimura and the Sumimura clan, now I have to worry about Gen too'_ he grumbled to himself. But then his face lit up when a sudden thought occurred to him. _'But hey, our families don't have a 400 year old feuding history! There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to work this out'_

'_That's it!'_ exclaimed Yoshimori inwardly as he abruptly sat up. He stumped his fist on the palm of his other hand at the guaranteed brilliance of his idea. _'I'll see this as a test. If I can work out my relationship with Gen then I'll be one step closer to fixing mine with Tokine's. I'm so smart!'_

So turning his head toward the ayakashi-hybrid once more, Yoshimori repeated his earlier question with a little too much eagerness. Gen turned his head and raised an eyebrow at the other boy's sudden mood change before facing the sky again and sighing.

"There wasn't any coffee-milk if that's what you're asking" he stated in a rather bored tone.

"What? How did you guess I was going to ask about that? Oh God, he can read minds!"

"…I can't read minds"

"Oh yeah? Then how did you know I thought you could read minds if you didn't read it! Huh?" protested a distressed Yoshimori, his kekkai already showing signs of instability.

Getting irritated, Gen propped himself up on his forearms and retorted to the other's accusation. "Because you said it aloud you idiot"

Yoshimori scowled at the belittling tone in the other's voice and was about to shoot back with an insult of his own before he remembered his original plan about befriending Gen. Yoshimori then closed his mouth and forced himself to stay cool. Letting out an aggravated sigh, he let his body plop itself back on the floor.

'_It's okay Yoshimori, you're better than this'_ he thought, giving himself a pep-talk. _'So what if I happened to stumble with a pebble on the road? It's nothing I can't handle. Yep, everything is A-okay!'_

Nodding to himself, Yoshimori turned his face toward Gen again and tried another approach. "So, ever tried coffee-milk before?"

That question prompted a stare down between both boys.

At first Gen didn't plan on answering; but Yoshimori looked so eager to receive his response that Gen felt sorry for him and gave in. "…No" he replied honestly. A decision he instantly regretted when he saw how the other boy gaped at him.

Gen was already groaning by the time Yoshimori's outcry of unparalleled disbelief could be heard.

"What do you mean you have never tasted the revitalizing wonders of coffee-milk?" he asked appalled by what he was hearing. Then he gasped when a devastating thought hit to him. "Don't tell me Tokine already got you siding with her!"

"Tch, it's not that" Gen explained unable to see what the big issue was. "It's just that it was never around so I never got interested"

"Never around?" Yoshimori mouthed slowly. The Kekkaishi couldn't believe what he just listened to. In fact he was so astounded by it that he couldn't help overreacting. "From what kind of sick and twisted place do you come from that they never bought you coffee-milk? Did your parents not love you or what?"

**~0~0~0~**

Tokine was in the middle of solving a long equation on the board when she felt a paralyzing dark aura wash over her.

'_What was that right now? It came from the middle school's area. Was that Gen?'_

She didn't have much time to ponder on it as a cough from beside her interrupted her thoughts. "Is everything alright Miss Yukimura?" asked the teacher almost making her drop the chalk in her hand.

At this, Mao Shinohara, also known as Tokine's rival, did not miss a beat chiming her outlook on it. "Oh my, don't tell me that the great Tokine got stuck when solving such a simple math problem. Ohohoho!"

"Huh, oh no, I'm fine" replied Tokine quickly bowing her head in apology. "Just got a little distracted" she explained as she resolved the rest of the equation in record speed. This made everyone in the classroom awe while Mao chewed on her pen in agitation.

**~0~0~0~**

Back on the rooftop Gen was trying to will his claws away with a glare while Yoshimori was busy using his shikigami to restore the cracked flooring, courtesy of Gen. While at it, Yoshimori was giving the ayakashi-hybrid a disapproving shake of the head.

"Sheesh, talk about not being able to take a joke well" grumbled the shorter boy.

Gen paid no mind to the other's complaining and concentrated on suppressing his powers. Once he was back to normal, Gen rested the back of his head on his now human hands and resumed to ignoring Yoshimori. The tanner male was perfectly willing to pretend that he hadn't lost it a minute ago.

Yoshimori on the other hand wasn't as willing to let the issue go.

"So are you gonna tell me what I said to make you react that way or am I gonna have to play the guessing game?" he asked. When Gen continued to give him the cold shoulder, Yoshimori shifted to whining. "Oh come on Shishio, how are we going to better our relationship if you keep refusing to talk to me?"

"Maybe I don't want to better our relationship" Gen countered unconcernedly.

"Ha! I made you speak to me!" exclaimed the Kekkaishi in victory.

"…"

"Hey, don't go silent on me now!" complained Yoshimori when he got no response. "Come on this is important. How am I gonna be able to fix the relationship between the Sumimura's and the Yukimura's if I can't even get through to you"

That proved to be the wrong thing to say as Gen bared his teeth in an angry snarl. "So what, I'm your experiment now? Is that what you are saying?"

Yoshimori gulped as his gaze came in contact with Gen's furious eyes but then he scowled and glared back. They continued on like that until eventually both looked away at the same time.

"Look, just drop it okay" said Gen as he closed his eyes. Yoshimori begrudgingly relented and laid his head down on his pillow again, also closing his eyes in the process.

After the silence lasted for about 5 minutes, Gen had convinced himself that the Sumimura had fallen asleep. But then, of course, Yoshimori had to prove him wrong.

"Um Shishio?" started the Kekkaishi speaking more softly than what he recently had been doing. "I want your opinion on something so be honest alright?" he said opening his eyes to stare at the clouds. "Do you think a relationship can be fixed no matter how broken it is?"

Gen opened his eyes at this, unknowingly joining Yoshimori in staring at the clouds. The ayakashi-hybrid licked his lips to remove the dryness as he contemplated his answer. "I really wish, something like that could be accomplished"

'_Huh?'_ Yoshimori turned his head and fixed his gaze on Gen. There was something strange about the way he answered and Yoshimori wanted to know what. But before he had a chance to ask, he was thwarted by a school broadcast.

"**Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. To everyone in Karasumori, good afternoon. It's the Kokubourou here…"**

Both boys jolted up into a sitting position as the rest of the message continued to be relayed. Sharing one quick glance with each other they wasted no time in getting up and sprinting inside the building.

"Where's the P.A. studio?" Gen demanded as they rushed through the halls.

"Up to the right!" Yoshimori shouted before looking out the window. "Wait they are outside!"

By the time the two of them got to the yard the five ayakashis in human skin where already passing through the school gates. Yoshimori stopped Gen from going after them just as Tokine arrived to meet up.

After discussing the impending danger they all agreed to regroup outside Karasumori thirty minutes earlier than the appointed time. Yet Yoshimori was quick to oppose the idea of asking the grandparents for help. He based his argument on the fact that their elders, primarily his granddad, wouldn't be able to cooperate with each other and right now what they needed was team unity.

That said, Yoshimori turned his full attention to their newest member. "Shishio, what about you? Can we count on you being able to work with us?" he asked directly. It took a second for Gen to break eye contact and then he began to walk away. "Hey!" shouted Yoshimori indignantly.

"I'm committed to my mission" was all Gen had to say on the matter. But this time it was Tokine who tried to put a stop to him.

"Wait up Gen!" she implored effectively halting his steps. "Can you at least promise us you won't recklessly try to fight them by yourself?"

If Gen paid any mind to what was asked of him he didn't show it as he didn't hesitate to continue his trek back home.

"Damn, that bastard" Yoshimori grumbled, stomping his foot as he did so.

Tokine just sighed but kept her eyes on Gen's retreating back. "He's… too honest to make a promise he might not be able to keep" she analyzed, making Yoshimori glance up at her. "Right now, that was probably the best he could offer us"

**~0~0~0~**

That night, when they all got together and entered the school, things didn't progress as they had hoped for. As the enemies where spouting their demands and the Kekkaishis were pointedly refusing them, Gen kept his eyes on the one who called himself Kaguro.

Gen could already tell that was the strongest among the ayakashi, and he had a pretty good guess that its forte was its speed. Gen was sure in his own abilities to react fast enough to any attack but…

'_They are too close'_ Gen stressed in his mind as he spared a glance to his allies. Taking two steps backwards he urged the Kekkaishis to do the same. But before he could get his point across he saw Kaguro taking out a blade while staring intently at Yoshimori. _'Shit, this is bad'_

What happened next could only be explained as an overwhelming difference in power. Gen was struck down immediately after he had rushed at Kaguro and then everything faded to black. Meanwhile Kaguro smiled seeming pleased with the outcome. He only needed one hostage to assure the negotiations ran smoothly and although he originally had his eye on the smaller Kekkaishi, he figured that the one he struck down would do as well.

When Gen's consciousness came back to him he immediately started coughing up blood. _'Damn it, that asshole. He made a complete fool out of me'_ he thought, punching the ground as his anger increasingly amplified by the second. "He'll pay for this!" he growled already losing control of his emotions.

'_He better not think that I'm going to take this lying down!'_ Gen raged inwardly. His hands and his feet where already transformed and his jaw was enlarging, but he was too furious to keep himself at that level. "I'll pay him back a hundredfold! RARRRGGGHH!"

Yet he didn't get a chance to do just that as Hiba Kyouichi chose that precise moment to make his presence known as he stabbed Gen's upper back with four different sedatives. A few choice words were exchanged before Gen blacked out again.

The next time Gen came to he felt disorientated so he didn't move nor opened his eyes. He wanted to fall asleep again yet when he heard Yoshimori's distinctive voice; Gen senses suddenly became more alert.

"Hey! What's with your attitude? Isn't he one of your friends?" Gen heard Yoshimori yelled a question that was only met with laughter.

"Pff, a friend?" replied Hiba quickly losing the amused tone in his voice. "He's a monster. Can a person who can barely keep control of himself do a job?" Hiba shook his head as if responding to his own question. "This guy can't be in a team; much less a family. He can only go wild. Isn't it obvious?" he voiced what he thought was a rhetorical question. "His real family threw him away. He's barely a part of the Night Troops too"

At this Gen opened his eyes. All he saw was the ground so he quickly figured he was being carried over Hiba's shoulder. Hiba however remained unaware of this and continued his speech, his voice reacquiring its previous amusement. It almost felt like he was telling a ghost story after all. His next words completely froze Gen of all movements.

"Did you know? He, he almost murdered his elder sister. When his three elder brothers weren't around he attacked his sister and almost killed her. He's alive today because his parents were too scared to take revenge. He's… oh?" he stopped when he felt the weight on his shoulder shift.

Gen detached himself from Hiba's grip and stood on the ground with his own two feet. Even so, he kept his head bowed down because he didn't want to face anyone in the eye. Not wanting to remain the center of attention he lugged his way away from the others.

Hiba spared him a side glance and told Gen to gather his belongings. Yoshimori however shouted for Gen to come back.

"I'm going back home" muttered Gen as an end-all making it clear that he didn't want to be followed.

"Keh" Hiba smiled not being able to keep the snide comment to himself. "You have no home to go back to" he corrected.

Tokine stared at Hiba with wide eyes while Yoshimori lowered his head enough for his hair to cover his eyes. The only thing in his demeanor that hinted Yoshimori's reaction to Hiba's cold response was the trembling fists located at either side of him.

**~0~0~0~**

Once Gen arrived at his apartment he automatically collapsed face down on his futon. Soon afterward he rolled over so that he was facing the ceiling.

He tried clearing his mind of tonight's events but that just made him stumble on the memory of the Chief telling him that he believed Gen would do a fine job protecting Karasumori. A responsibility the ayakashi-hybrid would probably be dismissed off by this time tomorrow.

Taking a sharp inhale of breath, Gen's brought his right arm over his face to cover his eyes from the world. He did not want it to see him breaking down.

…

The very next day Gen was back to laying on the school's rooftop like nothing had ever happened and it pissed Yoshimori off once the boy found him.

"Hey. Why are you here, sleeping?"

"Were you looking for me?" countered Gen with another question.

"S-Shut up!"

"…"

They laid next to each other in a somewhat comfortable silence until, as Gen already came to expect, Yoshimori broke it.

"Are you… going back to the Shadow Organization?"

"I don't know, they haven't sent word yet"

"Hey Shishio" began Yoshimori. There was something that'd been bugging him since last night. "What is that about you breaking 'the ban'?" he asked but then sighed afterward. _'Like he'd answer. As the question is about him it's obvious he'll say something along the lines of 'It's not related to you, blah blah blah'"_

"There are two main types of ayakashi hybridation, the parasitic type and the unified type" Gen started to the surprise of Yoshimori. "Parasitic types can change a part, but unified types can change their entire body"

Gen swallowed before getting to the next part of the explanation; his voice now carrying a graver tone. "I'm a unified type, meaning I can transform but… a full transformation is banned. That's because the person becomes a monster too" he said stopping only to breathe. "Yes there are memories, but they're useless. You can't control your powers and you don't understand why but just like that everything you see you-" Gen abruptly cut himself off and stood up.

The Sumimura sat up at this. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"What Hiba-san said was true" Gen stated, facing away from the other as he stood on the ledge of the roof. "I… almost killed my sister" he confessed. "That's the relationship I'll never be able to fix no matter how much I wish too"

"Shishio!" called Yoshimori but it was too late. Gen had already jumped away. "Damn" he cursed.

Yoshimori ran a hand through his hair in frustration before bringing his knees up and crossing his arms over them. _'Why did Gen talk so much today?'_ he wondered sullenly. _'Not only that but he didn't even looked at me the whole time' _he thought as he rested his head on his arms in defeat._ 'Guess it really is over'_

And yet, Yoshimori couldn't let it go. He kept thinking back to that moment when Gen had rushed in to fight Kaguro. There was no denying that the action probably saved Yoshimori's life; and so, it was only logical that the Sumimura felt like he was indebted to the taller male.

'_Damn it, I just can't let it end like this!'_

Finding his resolve, Yoshimori jolted to his feet and ran in search of the ayakashi-hybrid. But no matter where he looked Gen was nowhere to be found. That only meant that Gen had fled the school's premises; and because of that, there was only one route of action Yoshimori could take.

**~0~0~0~**

The last class of the day was free period. Hiromu Tabaka was busy sitting on his desk and organizing the latest data he received about a highschooler named Julia, a.k.a. the Leopardess of Karasumori, when Yoshimori came literally bursting through the door and making outrageous demands.

"Where does Gen Shishio live?" demanded Yoshimori while slamming both hands on Hiromu's desk.

"Excuse me?" responded the other boy with a raised eyebrow. "What makes you think that I have that information?"

"Don't feed me that bull!" Yoshimori argued making a scene. "I saw the glint in your eye when we heard that he lives alone. There's no way you didn't research it to find out if it was true!"

Before Yoshimori could start raising his voice more, a hand landed on his shoulder to calm him down. Looking up Yoshimori saw that the hand belonged to his other classmate, Tomonori Ichigaya.

Calamity avoided, Tomonori turned to Hiromu and pointed out how he saw when the other followed Gen one day after school. Already feeling busted, Hiromu decided to come clean; but with conditions of course. He was a man of business after all.

"Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know. But first you gotta tell me what I asked you to find out about Tokine Yukimura" he said negotiating the terms of the trade.

"W-What? When did I agree to look into anything for you, especially about Tokine?" asked Yoshimori getting flustered.

"Oh you surely remember. I told you I was going to ask you whether or not she was dating Kimiya Hachioji, the proclaimed Prince of Central High? I still have fellow students asking me for confirmation on the rumor"

"That's none of your business, but if you must know then the answer is NO, she is _not_ dating anyone!" he bellowed before grumbling the next part. "So there, now tell me what I want to know"

"Aw, that's too bad" sighed Hiromu in disappointment. "There's nothing I can do with that information. Plus that means I'm back to square one. Once again I find myself with no compromising data on that girl. Isn't there something else you can give me?"

"I'm not revealing anything!" Yoshimori stated putting his foot down.

"Well that sucks. You have to acknowledge that the information you gave me isn't worth the information I have" Hiromu mumbled to himself before raising his index finger as he was hit with what he considered a great idea. "I know, how about this? I'll swap with you Shishio's address if you tell me the reason why you are suddenly so interested in it" he offered.

"Huh? Why would you want to know something like that?"

"Because!" Hiromu exclaimed, opening his notebook on the page he had reserved for Yoshimori. "Last thing I recorded here was that you wanted to kill him. Assisting murder is a crime so I think I deserve to know what you intend to do with the address before I give it to you"

Tomonori Ichigaya nodded at this as he fixed his glasses. "Hmm, you have to admit he made a valid point there" he stated.

"So? Are you going to answer?" pressured Hiromu. "What's your _relationship_ with the transfer student? What is he to you?"

"M-My relationship with Shishio? I, eh, um, uh-" started stammering the Sumimura before the last bell rang signaling the end of a school day. Yoshimori then scowled at his classmates and spun himself around before stumping his way out. "You know what, forget it! I don't want to deal with incarcerated people like you"

"Incarcerated?" Hiromu asked once Yoshimori exited the classroom.

"I think he meant to say 'inconsiderate'" proposed Tomonori.

Hiromu shook his head at this. "Nah, I was thinking more along the lines of 'incredible' or something like that" he argued while closing his databook. "But you know; now I feel kinda bad for not telling him what he wanted"

"Well maybe you'll still have a chance to do so" reflected Tomonori as he took notice of something in the desk beside him.

Not three seconds later Yoshimori dragged his feet back into the room while muttering stuff about forgetting his backpack. It wasn't until he was making his way outside again after retrieving said backpack that he heard Hiromu's voice call out to him.

**~0~0~0~**

'_Aha! There's the fast food restaurant. That means I just have to walk two more blocks and turn left before I get to Shishio's place'_

Yoshimori was following the directions Hiromu had written for him in a loose piece of paper and, after confusing some of the reference points with other establishments more than once, he was finally taking the correct path toward his destination.

'_Heheh, trying to brush me off like that. I can't wait to see the look on Shishio's face when he figures out that there is no escaping me'_

**x-x-**(Scene 2 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination)**-x-x**

_Future!Gen: Yosh, I should had known I wouldn't be able to push you away. Please step into my apartment._

**x-x-**(Back to Reality)**-x-x**

'_Hmm'_ Yoshimori frowned at the scenario he just came up with. It didn't seem to quite fit. _'Maybe that was just the optimistic approach. Okay, let's try the worst case scenario'_

**x-x-**(Scene 3 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination)**-x-x**

_Future!Gen: You, how dare you disturb my slumber? Now I shall eat your soul!_

**x-x-**(Back to Reality)**-x-x**

"Yikes that could totally happen!" muttered Yoshimori pressing a hand on his chest to calm his accelerated heart. _'Talk about scary, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all'_

Just then, as the Sumimura turned the final corner, he looked up and saw Gen landing on a balcony. Coincidentally Gen also spotted Yoshimori and wasted no time bursting indoors.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted the Kekkaishi as he sprinted on the flight of stairs to reach Gen's doorstep. After reaching it he took a moment to compose himself before ringing the doorbell.

He was met with nothing but silence.

'_Huh, that's odd'_ he thought as he rang the bell again before knocking on the door. And yet again he was met with the same result. This in return only served to make Yoshimori get grumpier.

"Come on Shishio! I know you're in there" whined Yoshimori as he continued to bang on the door. "There's no use pretending!"

"I don't need a newspaper subscription" came Gen's gruff reply.

"What the" sputtered Yoshimori getting caught off guard. "What does that have to do with anything? Are you gonna invite me in or not?" he inquired. When he got no reply Yoshimori decide to go with plan B. "Fine, then I'll just scream at you from outside!" he declared stubbornly.

"Do whatever!" retorted Gen making the Kekkaishi's eye twitch.

"Grr, what's the matter with you? Can't you see that I'm trying to help here?"

"Sure you are! And I bet you also expect me to believe that your stupid plan of fixing your family's relationship with the Yukimura's has nothing to do with this" Gen shot back.

"I- uh-" spouted Yoshimori unintelligently. To be honest he had completely forgotten about that plan. "This has nothing to do with that!" he argued.

Only silence came after that, making Yoshimori's shoulders drop. The Kekkaishi leaned his back against the door and let himself slip to the ground. Unbeknownst to him, he was now assuming a similar position to Gen on the other side of the door.

"You know, the least you could do is confront me face to face" complained Yoshimori from his position on the ground.

"Well maybe I don't want to see your face" countered Gen for the sake of argument. There was no real bite in it though.

"Too bad" retorted Yoshimori while scratching the side of his head. "Cuz I kinda wanted to see yours, so there"

Gen snorted at that but otherwise said nothing. The sad truth being that for some odd reason he also wanted to see the other's face. He couldn't phantom why he felt that way and it rattled on his nerves. After all he knew that he would only be met with disappointment if he did.

They stayed quiet for a long time after that. Neither of them knowing if there was anything left to be said yet not wanting to leave in case there was. Yoshimori exhaled as he studied the Houin in the palm of his right hand.

"Do you, do you really hate your powers that much?" asked Yoshimori absentmindedly as he was lost in thought.

"…Yes" responded Gen after some hesitation, his voice awakening Yoshimori from his trance like state. "I, it's a curse okay? Because of it I feel like I can never stay in one place" he confessed while thinking of how the Night Troops had him going from mission to mission always changing locations. "I have to keep moving because I'm not wanted anywhere"

"Heh, it's funny you put it like that" mumbled Yoshimori, no real humor in his voice. "You see, sometimes I feel like the cursed one" he admitted.

Gen wanted to ask why the other boy felt like that, the vagueness of the answer intriguing the ayakashi-hybrid, but said nothing. In the end it seemed like he didn't have to as Yoshimori began to elaborate without any prompt.

"Because the Houin mark appeared on me, it is my born duty to watch over Karasumori. That means that I have to rest and train during the day so that I can do my job at night. It also means that I can never leave my post no matter the circumstances. I guess what I'm trying to say is that because I'm the legitimate successor I am chained to a stupid peace of soil.

I never got to go to any school trip because it interfered with my duty. I'm also not allowed to leave the town under normal circumstances. Heck, I don't even know my way around town that well. I got lost twice in my own hometown as I tried looking for your apartment, can you believe that?" joked Yoshimori halfheartedly as he rummaged for something in his backpack before standing up. "I kinda feel jealous you know. At least you get to see the rest of the world"

Yoshimori looked back at Gen's door after making his admission but, as he already expected, no reply came. The Kekkaishi nodded toward the door just the same and made his departure. It was painfully obvious that he wasn't going to get anything else from Gen but Yoshimori didn't let himself feel discouraged yet. After all, he still had one more card left up his sleeve. _'Masamori'_

It was a minute after the Kekkaishi had already gone that Gen opened the door to his apartment. He rested his forehead against the doorframe and gritted his teeth; but it wasn't out of anger, it was out of another emotion he wasn't quite ready to accept.

"I can't believe, he actually came… looking for me"

Gen felt numb as he didn't know how he was supposed to feel in such circumstances. He opened his eyes to glance at the spot he assumed the shorter boy had spent his time in only to find that it wasn't empty.

There on the floor, and much to Gen's chagrin, laid an unopened carton of coffee-milk fresh out of the market. The ayakashi-hybrid shook his head at the other's naivety and closed his apartment door from the inside, coffee-milk in hand.

**~0~0~0~**

As night came Yoshimori could be found standing still on top of the school's building. He was going through everything his older brother revealed to him about Gen and was conflicted on which course of action he should take. It was not easy trying to solve a problem when he didn't even know if Gen wanted to stay or not.

'_Ugh, I feel like such an ass after all the things I said to him. I'm surprise he hasn't killed me yet... no, on to more important things like getting Gen to stay in order to repay my debt to him. But damn it! If only Gen put up more of a fight or even said something along the lines of not wanting to abandon his mission then I'm sure it would turn up alright!'_

Before he could continue his inner rant he heard Tokine call out his name; soon followed by a comment from Hakubi about how it was rare to see Yoshimori at his post so early.

"Have you seen Gen?" asked Tokine once she landed in front of Yoshimori. "He's not around"

"Tsk, who cares" grumbled the Sumimura to which Madarao couldn't help but to intervene.

"Aww tell the truth! We came early so you could wait for him"

"Shut up!" Yoshimori defended.

"Oohuhuhu, you're blushing!" teased Madarao as he drifted away. It was obvious he was enjoying himself a little too much.

Tokine shook her head at the childish behavior before deciding to take the lead. "Anyways let's look for him. He's probably here somewhere"

Meanwhile Gen was perched on a tree wondering why he hadn't received any word of his dismissal yet. He briefly contemplated the thought that maybe Hiba had let it slide but quickly shot it down. Hiba hated him so there was no way that Gen wasn't reported. _'It seems that soon I really won't have anywhere to go'_

Fortunately Gen was interrupted from dwelling into further depressing thoughts when Karasumori's two Kekkaishis called out to him. Unfortunately he fled as he didn't want to hear what they had to say to him.

And so a chase began.

Even with them on pursuit, Gen's troubled mind continued to run a mile per second. _'Because they're too well mannered they probably just wanted to say some sappy goodbye… No, they might even want to criticize me one last time. Whichever it is, they haven't seen my full transformation yet. They don't know of the monster I really am. Under these circumstances if I don't meet with them until I get sent back to the Shadow Organization it will end without them… hating me more'_

But Yoshimori wasn't letting him run away. Masamori's words about not letting go of Gen's hand echoed vehemently on Yoshimori's mind. And soon, what started as a chase ended up as a battle between both boys. And it continued until Yoshimori let loose those fated words that made the other boy falter. "I want you to stay here, Gen. I need you!"

What happened next was the stuff that storybook endings were made of. Tokine also voice similar words as Yoshimori and then Hiba appeared to inform them that Gen got to stay but on probation. It was all so unreal to Gen that he had a hard time swallowing it. But from the one arm hug he was given by Yoshimori and the congratulations Tokine and the demon dogs were directing his way, it seemed that it was indeed real.

But it was still too incomprehensible to believe. "Get off" commanded Gen as he tried to push the other boy away but to no use as the Sumimura kept attaching himself to Gen. "Stop clinging to me"

Tokine laughed. "Well now that that's all settled you can start cleaning up this mess Yoshimori while Hakubi and I take care of the ayakashi"

"What?" Yoshimori stammered but Tokine sprinted off before he could protest. As Yoshimori was busy fuming about the unfairness of it all, Gen was trying to retain his grip on reality. He didn't want to let himself get carried away and foolishly go along with the flow if come tomorrow nothing was really going to change. He had to rid himself of false hope now or he wouldn't be able to handle it the next time something like this happened.

He was still a monster after all.

"Next time…" Gen began, struggling with his words. This got the attention of both Yoshimori and Madarao who were still in the vicinity. "Don't say things like you… _need me_ if you don't really mean it" he said while staring unfocusedly at his right claw. "It's not nice, to play with me that way"

Madarao and Yoshimori shared a look with each other before the Kekkaishi started to approach Gen. Madarao, however, stayed behind in order to watch the exchange between the young ones with a contemplative look on his face. The dog could tell that there was something developing here and he wanted to know what.

Gen was surprised when someone grabbed his clawed hand. He turned his head and caught Yoshimori staring intently at him. And for the first time Gen had trouble looking away.

"Shishio" started Yoshimori with both hands firmly holding Gen's claw. "I don't exactly know what's going through that head of yours but I meant what I said. I believe in you and both Tokine and I _want_ you here. Bottom line is that I need you. So what do you say? Friends?"

"I, uh-"

"Great!" Yoshimori cheered, not giving Gen a chance to voice an objection as the Kekkaishi began to trot away. "So as my new friend it's your duty to help me clean!" stated Yoshimori with the finality of a winner as he began summoning his shikigami.

Gen could only gaze at the other's retreating back before lowering his eyes to the ground and then to his now human hand. His emotional walls were shaking and he wondered if the world got some sick satisfaction from torturing him like that. In his turmoil he was completely unaware of how a certain 500 year old demon dog kept on observing him.

In the end Gen could only stare at the night sky with a dismayed look on his face. _'Why did he have to go ahead and say something like that?'_ he asked himself as he reflected on Yoshimori's spoken words. Words that engraved faith in a heart that didn't want it. _'Now I, probably won't be able to forget it'_

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N**: Okay now, I think that this chapter was a little more representative of what I'm trying to do here. Anyways the stage has now been set for feelings to start developing. I hope that you are enjoying the story thus far. Until later!


	3. Of Trust and Conflict

**A/N:** Work's been hectic but that has never stopped me from supplying chapters. So enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_And it finds me_

_The fight inside is coursing through my veins_

_And it's raging_

_The fight inside is hurting me again_

_And it finds me_

_The war within me pulls me under_

_And without you_

_The fight inside is breaking me again_

'_**Fight Inside' by Red**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Of Trust and Conflict**

It was another calm day at Karasumori. With no clouds in the sky and with the students being as noisy and carefree as ever, all seemed to point to nothing eventful being unleashed within school premises. Unfortunately Gen could have used the distraction.

As it commonly happened, Gen was trying to keep a level head even though he was being bombarded with all kinds of troubling thoughts. Notions of the danger he was to others occupied his brain as they seemed to have taken permanent residence in his head; as well as the haunting memories of his past.

Yet they have somehow taken a backseat to more recent worries involving his stay at Karasumori. Or to be more specific, worries involving a certain legitimate successor from the Sumimura clan.

Gen was sure that Yoshimori didn't have a clue of how much his words and actions affected the ayakashi-hybrid, but Gen was troubled precisely because they indeed had an effect on him.

Yoshimori was impulsive, no doubt about it, so it's obvious he would go and say things without giving it much thought. It would be silly to look for any meaning in it, Gen knew that. There was no reason to take anything the Kekkaishi said at face-value…

'_But then why can't I get it out of my head!'_ he grumbled inwardly. _'He's reckless, dumb and maddening. Not to mention that we are always fighting. It's not like we are getting along any better, and I don't care if we do either. So what should it matter to me if he says something out of the blue to me like that? Why did… why did I freeze when he told me that he wanted me here?'_

"Tch, this is giving me a headache" he groaned under his breath as he made his way through the school hallways. Gen rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand to remove the tension. He needed something to distract himself with and he needed it fast.

Turning the corner he got a whiff of something that didn't belong there. Opening his eyes he spotted the ghost of a cat sitting atop of a teacher's shoulder. Exactly the kind of distraction he needed. _'Ha, so there is a God'_ he thought sarcastically. But not wanting to appear ungrateful, Gen made his way toward the ghost as aloofly as he could.

Just when he was about to slash the cat way from existence, his claw was caught. That's when Gen caught sight of the previously unnoticed Yoshimori who wasted no time in pulling him away from the teacher. After making their way toward the end of the hall Yoshimori started to combust on the ayakashi-hybrid.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" whispered the Sumimura frantically.

"He got a ghost" pointed out Gen.

"You can't eliminate it while it still on his shoulder" droned out Yoshimori in reprimand. He had just promised Yurina that he wouldn't metsu the cat after all.

"Big deal" Gen replied unconcernedly while raising one hand. "No one will see with my speed. All ghosts that come here must be eliminated anyways"

"I wish I could eliminate that messed up thought process of yours" the Sumimura grumbled.

After that, the teacher excused himself but offered to see Yoshimori after classes were over. With that in mind Yoshimori quickly snatched Gen's hand and pulled him outside the building. Gen didn't put up a fight as he was being dragged away from the ghost. In fact his ability to compute thought seemed to have completely left him at that moment. All Gen could concentrate on was the fact that his hand was connected with the Kekkaishi's hand and on how strangely warm it felt.

Yoshimori let go of the other boy's hand when they hid behind the building, turned around and quickly started to blurt out reasons of why Gen shouldn't obliterate the ghost cat without first trying to help it move on. Gen of course wasn't paying attention to that.

The ayakashi-hybrid leaned against the wall and stared into space, somehow feeling weird about making possible eye contact with the Sumimura. Gen clenched and unclenched his hand before shoving it in his pocket hurriedly once he realized that he was acting too self-consciously. Yet the tingling feeling in his hand remained; making it difficult for Gen to focus on anything else.

Tokine found them shortly afterwards and Gen was thankful for the distraction she provided. With her around, his previous concerns were instantly forgotten and his thoughts reverted to being work related once more.

Yoshimori was quick to debrief the girl of their recent dilemma and both boys were surprised when she sided with the taller male. Still, Tokine decided to let Yoshimori handle it however he wanted to while Gen set a time limit for the Sumimura. If Yoshimori couldn't deal with the cat by the end of school hours, Gen would dispose of it the only way he knew how.

'_By destroying it, just like I do with everything else'_

It wasn't until the last bell rang that Gen met up with Yoshimori again. They were hiding behind a tree as they spied on the teacher. In the end it seemed like no action needed to be taken as right before their very eyes the ghost banished into the light.

"The cat moved on" Gen pointed out from his position behind Yoshimori.

"That's right. It just wanted one more compliment" replied Yoshimori with his eyes still glued to the scene unfolding before them. He leaned further against the bark of the tree to try to remain inconspicuous.

Gen scratched the back of his neck before looking away. "Well lucky for us it didn't transform" he commented indifferently.

At this Yoshimori turned his head toward the other boy and offered a smile. "Yeah, I'm glad that we didn't have to do anything" he said before turning his face once again to continue to spy on his homeroom teacher.

Grunting his reply and seeing that his services weren't necessary, Gen found no reason to stay there any longer. Yet despite that he didn't leave and subsequently lingered with the shorter boy through his spying. Gen's attention, however, failed to remain on the teacher and instead strayed toward the Sumimura. Yoshimori was too preoccupied to become aware of this.

There was just something about Yoshimori that captivated Gen and he wanted to figure out what it was. His previous thoughts of this morning returned to plague his mind. But seeing the content smile Yoshimori kept on his face for something as insignificant as a cat being able to move on to the afterlife kind of quieted the quarreling voices inside Gen's head.

'_He really is too soft'_ Gen thought as a shell of a smile began appearing on his lips before he caught it and frowned instead. _'But such compassion could lead to complications in the battlefield'_ Gen analyzed, forcing his brain to stay on work related issues.

Yet it wasn't long before his mind began to wander again.

'_Friend… he said he wanted to be my friend back then. Did he really mean that or was that an act of compassion as well?'_ he wondered. The thought did not quite sit well with him. _'Does that mean that he was just taking pity on me? No, he probably said it because he felt obligated to since we were gonna have to keep working together… But then why did he tell me he needed me?'_

Gen palmed his face with his right hand in aggravation. His failed attempts at making sense of the other boy were giving Gen a headache. That fact that even with the pain he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it did not help his throbbing head either.

'_Damn it, why can't I get you out of my head?' _questioned Gen as he glared at the back of Yoshimori's head. _'Why do you continue to let your guard down? Don't you already know what I'm capable of? Why don't you push me away like the others do? How can you even smile around me?'_

The more questions ran through Gen's head, the more the intensity of his glare seemed to diminish. It continued that way up till no trace of his anger remained. Before he knew it Gen was back to feeling lost. Thus it was only then that the question that was truly bothering him surfaced.

'_And since when did I start caring so much about what you think of me?'_

Gen was so transfixed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when his body had started leaning forward and closer toward the Sumimura. His face was literally inches away from the Kekkaishi's.

As focused as Yoshimori was with his spy work, he found himself distracted when he felt something graze the back of his hair. He absentmindedly combed his fingers through his scalp while turning to ask Gen about it only to find that said person was no longer there.

"That's odd" Yoshimori mumbled as he returned to watching his teacher give a proper burial to a dead bird. His brain however was focused on a different matter altogether.

'_Did Shishio just… sniff me?'_ he asked himself before making a quick armpit check. _'I don't smell bad, do I?'_

Meanwhile, a couple of buildings away at a back alley, Gen was on the verge of ripping his hair and banging his head against the wall.

'_What the hell got into me back there? I can't believe I just did that!'_

Gen was breathing hard and his heartbeat had accelerated. The scary part being that he knew it had nothing to do with the physical activity he just pulled while fleeing the scene. That didn't stop him from wanting to put the blame on something else though. Anything was better than admitting that Yoshimori's scent from up close had done strange things to Gen's body, some parts being stimulated more than others.

Yet even if he accepted the fact, he doubted it would be of much help to him since it still wasn't enough to explain the reason why he was affected by the other boy in the first place.

The only thing he was certain of was that he felt utterly confused; a feeling that angered him.

"Stop screwing with me!" he growled while punching the concrete wall. His knuckles hurt but he paid no mind to it. It would heal soon enough anyways. Plus it helped to calm him down.

He stared nonchalantly at the sizeable crack on the wall he had just created. A crack that only served to make him feel even more discouraged. _'Even outside the battlefield all I can do is destroy'_

With his thoughts unavoidably becoming a jumbled mess again, Gen shoved both hands in his pockets and proceeded to abandoning the alley with the intention of walking the rest of his way home. Hopefully that would provide enough time for his mind to find some kind of clarity.

**~0~0~0~**

When Tokine arrived at Karasumori that night she was met with the sight of her teammates already engaged in some kind of altercation with one another. Sharing a sigh with Hakubi who was already making comments about how he much rather watch girls wrestling, Tokine approached the quarreling duo and asked them what the fight was about. She wasn't at all surprised when Yoshimori was the first to voice his complaints.

"Tokine you should have seen it! There was this really fast ayakashi and just when I was about to trap it this _bastard_ over here slashed through my kekkai and took the kill away from me!" he complained while pointing an accusing finger at Gen.

"That's not how it happened at all" Gen defended, not sparing a glance at Tokine as he maintained a confrontational stance toward Yoshimori. "Not a single one your kekkai landed anywhere near the ayakashi. The only reason I even slashed through your kekkai was because it got _in the way_!"

"No it didn't!" Yoshimori turned to face Gen head on. "You just couldn't handle the fact that I was doing better than you!"

"Better than me?" Gen retorted, he would have laughed had he known how. "Each one of your kekkai appeared one second after the prey moved from the spot. At the rate you were going it was going to transform before you could finish it. If anything I did you a favor!"

"A favor? You only think that because you were unable to understand the brilliance of my strategy" he excused. "I wasn't missing; I was just trying to be dynamic!"

"As if I would believe something like that. It's obvious that the ayakashi was just toying with you"

"Huh well, so are you but what am I?"

"What?" Gen sputtered. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Well it doesn't have to" Yoshimori countered. "All that matters is that I am right and you are wrong!"

Hakubi and Tokine shared another collective sigh as both boys continued to go back and forth about who was in the right and who wasn't. Madarao however was never one to let the opportunity for teasing his master pass him by.

"Aww, how sweet. It's always nice to see a couple of pubescent boys _bonding_ so well" he mocked before lifting his tail to his forehead. "I feel _so_ left out" he lamented overdramatically.

"W-What?" Yoshimori blushed before closing his eyes and shouting "We were not bonding!"

"Oho, you're in denial!" Madarao sang.

"And you are an embarrassment!" Yoshimori shot back.

"Gah, you take that back you half-pint! You're 500 years too early to be using that kind of language with me young man!"

Hakubi shook his head in disapproval and commented on how obvious it was that Madarao was just vying for attention. Hakubi was about to suggest to Tokine that they should probably leave them behind but found that she wasn't paying them any attention. Instead she was focused on Gen who for the most part stood there forgotten.

'_Hmm'_ Tokine tapped her index finger on her chin as she reflected. "What Madarao said may not necessarily been without basis" she mumbled loud enough to get Gen's attention. "You know Gen, this is the first time I've seen you speak your mind so freely" she pointed out while choosing to omit the fact that the ayakashi-hybrid only did so during argument. "I remember that when we first met you used to hesitate a lot before saying something. But you aren't doing it now"

She smiled and Gen immediately averted his eyes. "I, uh" he started before spinning around ready to make a dash for it until he was tripped by a kekkai that appeared at his feet. Needless to say he face-planted the ground none too gracefully.

"Harsh, Honey" said Hakubi already feeling sorry for the boy he had affectionately nicknamed as 'GenGen'.

Tokine ignored his comment and unapologetically made her way to crouch in front of Gen. It _was_ rude of him to rush away when spoken to, so she didn't feel _that_ bad for making him eat dirt. She wasn't the compassionate Kekkaishi after all.

Gen clenched his fist in aggravation before lifting his head "What was that for?" he snarled. But when he realized he was face to face with Tokine he quickly looked away. He chanced another glance at her but couldn't hold it as he realized she was staring intently at him.

She was making him feel self-conscious, which in turn made him feel stupid and then ended with him feeling angry for it. So gritting his teeth he turned his glare at the girl "What?" he asked/growled. The ayakashi-hybrid wasn't expecting for Tokine to reply with a smile though.

"So you can maintain eye contact after all" she said while patting his head twice and effectively stunning him. "Now was that hard?"

With his thought process completely halted, Gen's voice was literally stuck in his throat. He didn't know what to say and he wanted to flee but his body wouldn't respond. It was like his entire nervous system had shut down.

A boy who didn't suffer from the same communication trouble was Yoshimori. And he was more than willing to be heard. "What the heck is going on here?" wailed the male Kekkaishi, shoving himself between Tokine and Gen faster than the speed of light. "Well? Are you two gonna start explaining yourselves or what? I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here!" he reprimanded.

Trying to assess the situation, Tokine raised her hands in a nonthreatening manner and took a step back. "There, there Yoshimori," she tried appeasing him, "Now tell me, what is this really about?"

"What is this about?" repeated Yoshimori turning his body to face Tokine. "You think I can't see it?" he asked laughing a little too hysterically for comfort. "You two are obviously flirting!" he shouted.

'Say what now?' thought Tokine taking another step back in recoil. Her face painted a clear look of disbelief.

"Oh don't give me that look" reproached Yoshimori. He brought his fingers up and began counting the evidence. "Siding with each other at school, ruffling his hair, staring into each other's eyes; next thing I know he is gonna be sniffing up your hair!" he accused in alarm at the final part.

"No I wouldn't" muttered Gen with apathy while standing back on his feet and dusting himself. He didn't expect for the inquisitor to switch screaming targets so abruptly though.

"And why wouldn't you?" countered Yoshimori advancing on the other until he was able to poke Gen accusingly on the chest. "You obviously had no trouble doing it to me before!"

"T-That wasn't what it looked like!_"_ defended Gen weakly, averting his eyes. A slight blush of embarrassment at being caught appeared on his face but Yoshimori was too busy making accusations to notice. And it was with another poke to the chest that Yoshimori continued his rant as if the other hadn't spoken.

"Tell the truth, you were planning on hitting on Tokine since the first time you met her, weren't you?"

"No I wasn't" denied Gen, staring at the shorter boy as if he had lost his mind.

"Yes you were!" shot back the Sumimura.

"No I wasn't!" countered Gen already beginning to lose his composure. "And it's not like I could ever want her that way so drop it!"

"Why not?" Yoshimori argued, "What's wrong with Tokine?"

"Nothing's wrong with her. It's just I'm, ah-" staggered Gen catching his almost slip-up. "She's not my type, okay?"

"Not your type?" Yoshimori questioned disbelievingly, "How can that be you liar, she's everybody's type!"

"Then why don't you ask her out?" retorted Gen angrily. He should have known that it was impossible to keep calm whenever the shorter boy was around.

"MememememeME?" Yoshimori stammered quickly getting flustered when the spotlight was diverted on him. "D-Don't make this about me! We are talking about you and Tokine!"

Said girl was busy rubbing her temples. She felt like if she was getting a migraine. Having two people talk about her like if she wasn't even there placed her beyond the point of agitation. So wanting no more of it Tokine put a stop to it the only way she knew how.

"Ketsu!"

A green kekkai appeared between the feuding boys and it expanded horizontally, effectively knocking both parties to the ground. Tokine then assumed a posture of authority before either could begin complaining and started relaying her orders.

"Alright listen up" she commanded, making it clear that she wouldn't leave room for more nonsense. "We're obviously too high-strung to be able to work together right now so I propose that we split up and do our jobs separately, at least for tonight. Any objections?" she asked even though the tone of her voice clearly stated that _there better not be_.

"Tch, fine with me" replied Gen gruffly. He wasted no time jumping away once he stood up.

"Hmph, well he's an eager one" said Hakubi commenting on how quickly the ayakashi-hybrid jumped on the opportunity to ditch them.

The Yukimura shook her head at this before making her way to the opposite direction. Not without sparing some parting words with the other Kekkaishi of course. "Try not to fall behind this time, will you?"

Yoshimori could only gape baffled at Tokine's retreating form. The way she said it made it sound like if he was the one responsible for everything that happened.

**x-x-** (Scene 4 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination) **-x-x**

_AlternateReality!Tokine: Now look what you did. Because of you now I won't get the chance to work with someone as reliable as Gen. Why can't you be more dependable? I bet I wouldn't have this problem with someone like Masamori._

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

"Bah, I'll show you dependable" muttered the Sumimura as he crawled to his feet. "Madarao! Go find me ayakashi before anyone else can. I'll show them who is more reliable!"

"Um, sorry to burst your bubble but haven't we tried that before?" questioned Madarao clearly remembering similar events happening. "Last time you ended up with a cold if I recall correctly"

"Just do it" replied Yoshimori stubbornly. He was probably unaware that he was pouting.

Madarao rolled his eyes. "Fine, but that means you owe me another slab of deer meat" he rambled as he drifted away to give his master some space.

Meanwhile Gen stopped his scampering once he deemed he was far enough from the group. But as a precaution he made base within the braches of a very tall tree. Once settled in, he buried his face in his hands.

"What's wrong with me?" he muttered quietly as he let his hands fall lifelessly at either side of him. Gen rested his head against the tree trunk and stared unfocusedly at the moon.

He had been thinking long and hard throughout the day about why he felt so awkward and confused whenever he was around Yoshimori. Gen found that the answer, although simple, weighted heavily on his mind.

It was because Yoshimori considered him a friend and…

'…_I never had a friend before'_

Gen tried not to cringe at how pathetic that thought made him sound but couldn't. The truth had always been a hard pill to swallow; yet it did nothing to help his struggle since Gen still had no freaking clue of how to cope with it.

You see, since Gen never really had a friend his own age before, he was at a loss on how he was supposed to interact with a friend. He had a vague idea of what friendship entailed, which was being able to tolerate one another, but other than that he was stumped.

It wasn't fun to always be the odd man out. To always have people ganging up on him. Because of this Gen had unconsciously developed a defense mechanism to protect himself from the disillusion of having yet another person shunning him out. It consisted of distancing himself from other people and never cooperating with them in order to keep his heart from building up any sense of camaraderie that would prove to be fake in the end.

Yet somehow those tactics did not seem to work on the Sumimura.

'_Guess barriers don't work on Kekkaishis'_ he thought, still unable to laugh at his own jokes.

Nevertheless it was true. By some kind of bizarre abnormality the ayakashi-hybrid couldn't explain, Yoshimori had become someone Gen didn't want to distance himself from. A friend…

'_But what am I suppose to do now?'_

The night trooper was having a hard time figuring out the do's and don'ts of friendship. Sniffing your friend was obviously a don't. Gen still didn't know what had possessed him to do something like that but it wasn't like he could exactly control his body urges. Getting aroused from smelling a friend was another thing he should avoid doing, probably.

Maybe it was an irredeemably weak thing for him to want but Gen didn't wish to see his newfound friendship fail.

'_And then there is the Yukimura'_ he thought as he absentmindedly ran a hand through a few strands of his hair. The way she scolded him and then eased up on him; she had handled him exactly like any big sister would. Like he imagined Ryo would had done.

Gen closed his eyes and shook his head to cut short that line of thinking. He didn't want to reminisce on past memories of his sister. That inevitably could only lead to painful thoughts of their bitter end. He didn't need to be depressed right now.

Opening his eyes again he was able to disguise his jolt of surprise with an annoyed grunt when he saw the white demon dog floating in front of his face again.

"My my" said Madarao with a teasing grin. "Are you sure this is the right time to be taking a nap, hmm?"

The ayakashi-hybrid didn't bother to dignify that with an answer as he hastily dropped to the ground and continued on with his patrolling. Madarao didn't let that faze him; in fact it rather amused him. So finding nothing else to better spend his time with while Yoshimori finished cooling down, the demon dog decided to pester the new guy as a form of entertainment.

Gen narrowed his eyes when he felt the dog's presence trailing after him. It was a nuisance but Gen didn't doubt his capability to ignore the unwanted company. And so Gen continued his trek as if Madarao wasn't there.

However Madarao quickly grew bored of being ignored and started drifting in circles around Gen to get his attention. Seeing as the dog was now impeding him from moving ahead, Gen gritted his teeth and forced out a "What?"

"Oh Gen-kun, how rare of you to start conversation!" teased Madarao as he came to stop a foot away from Gen's left shoulder. "And here I was beginning to think you were going to pay no heed to little old me. Quite the pleasant surprise indeed" he quipped with a smirk.

Gen resisted the urge to face-palm and proceeded with his scouting. But the fact that a grinning Madarao kept floating a short distance beside him unnerved Gen to no end. "Don't you have a Kekkaishi to look after?" he finally voiced in hopes that the dog would take the hint and leave.

No such luck though.

"Aww, you're concerned about little Yoshi. How sweet of you" Madarao continued to tease before raising his chin with an air of pride. "You don't have to worry about that one though, he's plenty capable without me having to assist him" he declared.

Before Gen had a chance to retort that he wasn't worried, he caught the scent of an ayakashi and darted off in search of it. Madarao promptly followed while complaining loudly of how he didn't appreciate to be cast aside like that.

The dog rolled his eyes after turning the corner and finding Gen in a defensive stance as he tried to discern the location of the intruder. "Fourth tree to the right" Madarao supplied with a yawn. He was, however, rather impressed when Gen automatically dashed forward and eliminated the ayakashi in less than 5 seconds. _'Not bad'_ he thought.

Gen wiped his hand on his shirt while staring at the corpse before him. It would be wise to report that to either Kekkaishi so they could tenketsu it but he didn't really feel like facing them. That's when he took notice of the demon dog. _'Might as well'_ he deliberated.

"Hey," Gen started. "Can you, ah-" but he was cut off by an overly excited Madarao.

"You want me to call Yoshi don't you? Mmhmm, I can see it in your eyes. In fact all we ever seem to talk about involves Yoshimori in some way. You're quite taken with that one aren't you?" he stated more than asked.

Gen took a step back ready to voice his dissent but Madarao just kept rambling on.

"I bet you think he's a cute little guy don't you?" asked Madarao with sparkles in his eyes before moving away to avoid being swatted by the ayakashi-hybrid. "Personally I've seen _better_ but I'm not one judge. So what exactly is it that plagues your mind? Is it his hair or maybe his height? Could it be his attitude? He's too spontaneous isn't he? Ooh wait, you were worrying about his wellbeing before. Is that it?" he questioned with obvious amusement.

"It's more like you're feeding me thoughts than actually asking about them" Gen asserted with irritation. Madarao just laughed at being caught and then joked about how Gen hadn't denied that he thought Yoshimori was cute. This made Gen's face redden with a blush that was easily mistaken with anger.

The demon dog stopped his teasing when he was confronted with a claw to his face. Madarao eyed the sharpness of the claw before him prior to shifting his gaze toward the serious looking owner of said claw. "Hmm, kinky" Madarao jested with a wink for added effect.

Gen clenched his jaw in aggravation before retracting his hand and facing away from the demon dog. "Just go already before it regenerates" he grumbled referring to the dead ayakashi before readying himself to jump away.

"Fine, fine" replied Madarao pretending to stifle a yawn. "Yoshimori is way funnier to mess with anyways" he said before acquiring an eerie grin. "But you know," started the dog with a mysterious glint in his eye as he hovered in front of Gen's face one last time. "We may be more _alike_ than I first thought"

As Madarao hurried away to where his master was he didn't notice that his parting words had made the teenager stay rooted on the ground.

'_What did he mean when he said that we were similar?'_ Gen questioned with clear distress written all over his face. He reflected on the debriefing he got before being assigned to Karasumori and remembered the Chief mentioning that the demon dogs where actually ayakashi kept in check by their collars to keep them from going berserk. Kinda like the tattoo around Gen's torso. _'Does that mean he thinks that both of us are monsters?'_ his brain supplied, quickly taking the negative route.

It made sense to Gen. The only reason the dogs weren't rampaging around was because their collars suppressed their powers and natural instincts. If not they would had been annihilated a long time ago. Likewise the only reason Gen wasn't treated as an imminent threat to society was because his seal kept him from doing a complete transformation. That's the only reason he was trusted with a mission. And that's probably the only reason he managed to land a friend.

'…_but that all can easily change the moment I transform can it?'_

Gen swallowed hard as the reality of it started to manifest within him. The only reason things were peaceful now was because his teammates had yet to see what he was really capable of. They would no doubt hate him and call him a monster once they saw his real form.

Come to think of it he had briefly compared Tokine to his big sister earlier. Maybe that was the reason he always felt a little uneasy around her. The more Gen thought about it the more his fear seemed to be justified. After all, his real sister had seen his true form once and he hasn't heard a word from her ever since. Not even a letter.

If someone blood-related to him didn't want anything to do with him, what's to say that Tokine wouldn't react the same way, if not worst since they had no real attachment to one another except for being colleagues.

And then there's Yoshimori who for some reason always seemed to be competing with him. Gen flashbacked to an old teammate in the Night Troops, a guy named Shoki. Gen had beaten him and acquired a higher rank at his expense within the Organization. Shoki couldn't take it and called him a monster, even going as far as bringing his sister up. What's to say that Yoshimori wouldn't do the same under similar circumstances? Has experience really taught the ayakashi-hybrid nothing?

Gen's stance faltered and he was brought down to one knee. He punched the ground hard in fury when he realized that he had once again given into false hope.

"How stupid can I be" he whispered to no one in particular. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so crestfallen.

**~0~0~0~**

Next morning found Yoshimori strolling through the school halls in search for Gen. The taller boy hadn't showed up at the rooftop and wasn't in his homeroom either. Yoshimori didn't particularly cared what the other was up to, especially after last night's fiasco, but his absence made the Kekkaishi anxious. What if the tanner male was getting into some kind of trouble he wasn't supposed to get into?

Yoshimori wasn't paying much attention to the people around him as he looked for Gen and ended up colliding with a fellow student. "Oops, sorry about that" he apologized before realizing that he knew the person he had bumped into. And it just so happened that this particular student could possibly be of help to him. "Oh hi Yurina. Listen, can I ask you something? Have you by any chance seen Shishio around? He's the new transfer student with the bad attitude by the way"

"I, um" Yurina Kanda was thunderstruck by the fact that Yoshimori was the one who started conversation with her as opposite of what usually happens. She didn't want to make a fool of herself so she tried to remember who this Shishio person was. That's when she pictured the scary student with the beastlike eyes from the neighboring class. But Tokine had told her that they were working together so he couldn't be bad, right? "Um, I don't sense anything remotely close to the stench of blood so he's probably not here today" she answered hoping that Sumimura-kun wouldn't blame her for it.

"Are you talking about Gen Shishio?" said a voice from beside them and they turned to see it was no other than Hiromu Tabaka.

The presence of the data collector quickly put Yoshimori on high alert. He couldn't afford revealing anything related to supernatural affairs with the other boy around after all. "What of it?" questioned the Sumimura a little defensively.

"Nothing much" replied Hiromu with a shrug as he made a beeline for their homeroom. "It's just that a few students reported to me that they saw you dragging him to the back of the school building yesterday. Kinda suspicious if you ask me" he commented aloud.

"It's not what it looks like!" Yoshimori shouted louder than necessary.

"Whatever you say" Hiromu said stopping at the classroom door and acknowledging Yoshimori one last time. "I haven't checked the obituaries yet, but considering you were the last person Shishio was seen with, I wouldn't want to be you if that name appears in the newspaper" he said before entering the room.

"Hmp" muttered Yoshimori crossing his arms in front of his chest. He swore he could never tell when Hiromu was being serious or not. The Kekkaishi turned to see Yurina watching him wearily and sighed. "It's not what it looks like. I didn't kill anyone" he defended. Yurina nodded and after a few more seconds of small talk she headed for the classroom as well but not before telling the boy to not be late.

Yoshimori barely listened to that as he was busy remembering that last night Gen had said something similar about the whole sniffing incident. _'Maybe it really wasn't what it looked like'_ Yoshimori thought as he scratched the side of his scalp. _'Not that I'm sure what it looked liked in the first place'_

Whatever it was Yoshimori was starting to consider that he may had overreacted last night. _'Maybe I should pay him another visit later'_

**~0~0~0~**

That afternoon Yoshimori found himself once again in front of Gen's apartment, the doorstep looking as cold and uninviting as he remembered. _'Oh well, better get this over with'_ he thought to himself as he rang the bell.

"Shishio, hey! If you're there come out man" he called.

"I don't need a newspaper subscription" came Gen's blunt reply.

"…Geez, not this again" sighed Yoshimori before inhaling enough air in preparation for a longwinded rant. "Is that really all you have to say to me? I'm no traveling salesman! Ugh, you gotta be kidding me. I'm here to bring over some handouts and stuff from school. We're in the same grade ya know. And besides, my dad made a special lunch for you so open up!"

"Just leave it by the door" was the droned response he received.

"I can't, mine is in the same bag"

"…"

Yoshimori was momentarily stoked that his efforts weren't in vain and that he was, albeit reluctantly, invited to step into Gen's apartment. Yet that feeling didn't last long as, even though he was technically welcomed in and the table was set, Yoshimori was met with noting but silence.

"So" started the Kekkaishi wanting to break the suffocating quietness. "What was so important that you had to skip school?"

"I needed time to think" replied Gen while breaking his chopsticks so that he could start digging into his meal.

Seating across from him, Yoshimori scowled at the answer he got. "To think? Since this morning? It's almost night now"

Gen didn't even spare the other boy a glance as he responded. "I was meditating" he answered, keeping his sentences short and simple.

"Whatever" Yoshimori muttered as he also began to dig in into his meal. He took the opportunity to view his surroundings but frowned at what he saw. Then he glanced at the ayakashi-hybrid and pouted between bites. _'This guy doesn't talk at all while eating. Even his room is dull… I wonder if this is ordinary for him'_

He continued to shift his gaze toward different parts of the room until he stopped at the fridge. That's when curiosity got the best of him and he jumped up to open it.

"Oi, what do you think you're do-" started Gen but got interrupted when Yoshimori started to cheer because he didn't find a carton of coffee-milk in the fridge. That must have meant that Gen drank it! So Yoshimori was quick to interrogate the other boy about it.

"So did you like it? I bet you did! I can't wait to brag to Tokine about it! It was good right? Right?" he asked eagerly as he sat down on his spot and leaned forward wanting to hear the good news.

Gen _had_ to look away from the visual representation of glee seated in front of him. He already regretted what he was about to say. "Actually, I didn't… like it"

"W-W-What, WHY?" demanded Yoshimori flailing his arms and looking like the very definition of heartbroken.

The night trooper winced in recoil and tried to look for something to distract the other boy with. "What's with the box?" he asked after taking notice of a white box situated at the corner of the table. Yoshimori followed Gen's line of vision and grinned when he spotted it.

"Oh, you saw that! Nothing gets pass you!" the Kekkaishi exclaimed as he picked up the box and held it in front of him. "Behold! After many years of research it has finally been completed. A tasty product of all my heart's dedication: the ultimate chocolate cake!"

The room was filled with nothing but silence after that declaration.

Gen found himself in a problematical situation. For one, he really hated sweets. On the other hand, he didn't want to deal with the consequences of openly voicing that. See, even with all the heartache of last night and the subsequent stress of this morning, Gen was finally able to admit to himself that regardless of any disillusion he might encounter in the future, he _really _wanted a friend.

At first he thought that keeping his distance from Yoshimori was the safest bet at maintaining a friendship because it gave Gen less chances to screw it up. But that theory basically went out the window when it became obvious that even if he tried to stay away, Yoshimori would simply find any excuse to seek him out. And although that did wonders against Gen's pessimistic disposition, it also presented him with the problem of having to interact with the Sumimura. And having already established Gen's general lack of previous friendships, the ayakashi-hybrid found himself in a stump.

"What's with that expression on your face?" voiced Yoshimori interrupting Gen from his inner musings. "What, you got a problem with a guy baking a cake or something?"

"No"

"Then what is it?" questioned the shorter boy defensively.

Gen avoided eye contact again. He had already tried honesty once before with the coffee-milk and that didn't receive a favorable response. So treating this as he would a battlefield, he went with another strategy. "…I'll eat it" he stated.

Yoshimori blinked back not expecting the issue to be resolved so easily without him being mocked in some way for making pastries. He placed the cake slowly on the table and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Okay then"

Things progressed in relative calmness after that. It was after they finished their meals and while in the middle of dessert that they were interrupted when Gen's past instructor, Atora Hanashima, came _literally_ bursting through the door, dragging Tokine along.

After some very, um, _distracting_ stuff happened concerning Gen's behavior around the instructor and a small introduction of who everybody was went down, Atora glowed when she spotted the chocolate cake. But then her demeanor changed when she heard that Gen partook in its consumption.

"Didn't you say you hated any kind of sweets Gen?" she asked loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Hates sweets?" it was of course Yoshimori who overreacted. "You acted like you enjoyed it! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," started Gen who was already crouched in a fetal position and vehemently facing away from his unwanted guest. "…you would have felt bad" he explained.

"You still should have told me!" Yoshimori scolded before lowering his voice. "We are friends remember? That means you should trust me enough to tell the truth. I wouldn't have cared" he said. "If anything I would have probably tried to bake you something else" he added as an afterthought.

No one noticed but Gen's eyes widen at that. He never really thought about friendship in that way. Did the answers to all his previous questions about Yoshimori's behavior toward him really come down to that? Trust? _'Since he considers me his friend, does that mean that he actually trusts me?'_

That train of thought didn't get far though as Gen soon found himself being suffocated by a pair of boobs as Atora excitedly congratulated him on making friends.

After that they were all sat down as Atora explained the real reason for her visit. She spoke of the importance of maintaining teamwork and declared that she was going to test their ability to work together tonight. Moreover if they weren't successful in completing it she was going to take Gen away.

Just thinking of the complete disaster that last night was already had Gen thinking that he might as well start packing his bags. But Yoshimori's confidence that they would pass any test given to them stopped Gen from taking any hasty action. That night when Atora revealed the ground rules of the trial, Gen understood that the real test was to see if he could trust his teammates like they apparently trusted him.

It was hard at first since Gen had never been in a situation when he had to depend on someone before. Yet as their obstacles continued to pile up, and with Tokine swaying/frightening the information out of him, they somehow managed to work together and pull through with 12 minutes to spare.

The Kekkaishis and their demon dogs celebrated their victory, with Yoshimori patting Gen's back and Tokine ruffling his hair. The next thing Gen knew he was already saying his farewells with his trainer.

"Aww, and here I thought I would be able to take you away" lamented Atora from her position beside Gen.

"I'll pass" said Gen unconcernedly before mumbling the next part. "Besides, I'm _wanted_ here"

"Oh?" replied Atora with a big smile plastered on her face. Apparently the ayakashi-hybrid didn't say the last part as low as he had hoped.

"C-Cut it off" said Gen crossing his arms and looking away from her.

That wasn't enough to block the squeal of delight that escaped her though. "Oh my God, my boy actually likes it here!" she exclaimed as she once again smothered the teen between her boobs.

"I said to cut it out!" Gen shouted as he struggled against her. Once she released him, Gen took three steps backward as a precaution and fixed his uniform. Atora was still watching him with mirth in her eyes so Gen took an extra two steps backward to ward off whatever she may have been planning to do to him. Then, thinking about his trainer more carefully and considering the fact that he won't have to see her again for a hopefully long period of time, Gen decided to take the risk and ask her opinion on something that had been troubling his mind.

"Listen, about my full transformation" started Gen as he feigned interest in the wall furthest from his trainer's general direction. "Do you think they would be able to handle something like that?" he asked referring to his two teammates.

"Huh? What are you talking about? You know that a full transformation is tabooed" stated Atora seriously while raising a critical eyebrow at him. When the teen said nothing, she just patted him hard on the back and smiled when he glared at her. "Aww don't worry so much over it Gen; that's what your tattoo is for! No point in stressing over something that won't happen"

Although she was trying to be reassuring, it had the opposite effect on Gen. You see, from Gen's perspective; Atora had just cemented his fear by mentioning his seal. She had unknowingly stated that it was best for him not to reveal his true form to his friends. It was like she also believed that his friends would hate and leave him the moment they saw the monster he could become. In other words if he wanted to keep his friends he had to hide the truth about himself at all cost.

"Hey Shishio, what are you standing there for?" called Yoshimori from afar as he waved his staff around. "We still have a job to do you know!" he said as he ran off in search of ayakashi.

Gen was about to take a step forward but halted his movements when the sound of Yoshimori's voice triggered a recent memory.

_**-We are friends remember? That means you should trust me enough to tell the truth. I wouldn't have cared-**_

"Tch," Gen shook his head in order to get back his focus. "Coming" he replied before dashing away.

Atora however remained frozen on her spot with a stunned expression on her face. _'Did he just… No, I must have imagined it'_ she convinced herself as she rounded her beast allies. Yet she still couldn't shake the image from her mind. She glanced once more to where Gen had stood just a moment ago and pondered on what she saw.

Right there, before Gen had rushed off to where his teammates were, Atora could have sworn that she saw a ghost of a smile forming on Gen's lips.

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N: **Man this chapter was taxing to write but I'm very satisfied with how it came out. I'm really looking forward to Chapter 4 though. It's a real juicy one. Here's a hint. All you have to do is continue the lyrics to this song to figure it out. It goes something like "Gen and Yoshimori sitting on a tree…"

Until next time!


	4. Falling?

**A/N:** Not much to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh and a special shout-out to anonymous reviewer Kiara for her funny and consistent feedback!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_I __know it's not your fault, but I'm a locked door_

_And inside I'm a mess by someone before_

_And I wish that I, I could find a key_

_To unlock all the things that you want us to be_

_Let me open up and start again,_

_But there's a safe around my heart_

_I don't know how to let you in,_

_And that's what keeps us apart_

'_**Need You' by Travie McCoy**_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Falling?**

"…Grandpa told me that the enemy is from another world. Seems like we were right; we'll probably have to fight more of those guys in human skin in the future" Yoshimori commented as he made more kekkais appear in the air.

"Yes" agreed Tokine as she also was busy making and dispelling kekkais when they were no longer necessary. "That's why we got to make sure we are in tiptop shape for when that time comes"

"I wonder why they want Karasumori so much in the first place" Yoshimori pondered. "I get that it makes them stronger, but there's gotta be some other reason, right?" he asked facing Tokine.

The girl sighed but didn't take her eyes away from the sky. "Who knows? Nobody understands all the secrets of Karasumori. That's why this place is so scary"

"You really think so?" asked Yoshimori making another kekkai without really paying attention to where it landed. "I never really thought of this place as scary; just as something that gets in the way of a lot of other things I rather be doing"

As the Sumimura mumbled the last part out, Tokine glanced at him with the corner of her eye. Consequently she lost her concentration on her precious task. A fact the one affected by it struggled to point out.

"Hey, you guys- shit- Guys!" Gen called as an unstable kekkai almost bumped his head. "You said we were going to train, but aren't you guys just playing around?" he pointed out as another misplaced kekkai almost trapped his right elbow.

After the test Atora had given them a few days ago, the three protectors of Karasumori decided to thoroughly start working on their teamwork in order to strengthen their capabilities. They decided on tackling first the concept of aerial battle and for this purpose the two Kekkaishis were supposed to be working on speed, placement accuracy and elasticity of their kekkai while Gen worked on getting familiar with his teammates abilities.

It was basically a trust exercise for the ayakashi-hybrid as he was supposed to have faith that his teammates would be able to stay in sync with his movements no matter what he did. That way he wouldn't hesitate in taking action; subsequently improving their efficiency when dealing with an airborne enemy.

Well, at least that is what was supposed to happen in theory. But with the way the Kekkaishis were constantly getting distracted with their conversation it was understandably hard for Gen to feel that his life was safe in their hands.

"No no, we _are_ training like I told you" Yoshimori quickly tried to remedy by making more kekkais appear in all the right places. He knew that he was at fault for their mistakes but that didn't stop him from trying to cover it up. He turned to his childhood friend for backup. "Right, Tokine?"

Unfortunately for him, Tokine disregarded his call for help and instead chose to dig him a bigger hole. "If you keep making your kekkais too big, Gen won't be able to pick up speed" she stated unsympathetically. She may have been the eldest but that didn't mean she had to take the fall for her juniors.

"To-To-Tokine!" Yoshimori whined and the girl had to cover her mouth to stop the giggle that wanted to come out because of the boy's shocked expression.

All joking stopped when Hakubi yelled that Gen was freefalling. The Yukimura was the quickest to react and created a trampoline-like kekkai on the ground to cushion the ayakashi-hybrid's fall.

Both Kekkaishis rushed to where Gen landed and inquired on his wellbeing. Yet they skirted to a halt when the night-trooper sat upon the green kekkai and glared at them. The heat in Gen's feral eyes was palpable enough for them to know that they had seriously screwed up. Yoshimori didn't like the accusing stare and was about to retort with something until Tokine covered his mouth with both her hands.

"Now Gen" started Tokine already trying her hand at dissipating the situation before it escalated into another useless altercation between the boys. "I know you probably want to smash Yoshimori's face into the concrete for bringing his stupidity into our training" she said ignoring the fact that the Sumimura was gaping at her. "But you got to remember that he doesn't heal as fast as you do and for better or worst we still need him coherent enough for us to work on our teamwork"

"Tch, whatever" Gen scoffed as he got off the kekkai and landed standing on the ground. He crossed his arms but otherwise showed no signs of wanting to pursue further confrontation. Gen diverted his eyes away once he caught the pleased look on Tokine's face.

The girl in question smiled while storing in her brain the fact that Gen had trouble mouthing off to girls. Whether it was because of a code of chivalry or because he simply didn't have the courage to do so, she didn't know. But it was nice knowing that she wouldn't have to worry about him lashing out at her anytime soon.

Yoshimori on the other hand was a different story. And it was with great reluctance that she released him from her grasp.

"What was that for?" Yoshimori rapidly complained making Tokine roll her eyes.

"That was me preventing you from running your mouth and making things worst" she stated in a belittling tone. Yoshimori unconvincingly denied such statement and commented on her lack of trust in his actions. Tokine quickly countered that it had _nothing_ to do with trust and _everything_ to do with the fact that she knew too well how that demented head of his worked. Yoshimori was about to retort to that but this time it was Madarao who intervened.

"Oh please Yoshimori, don't act like you didn't enjoy being handled like that" the dog yawned making his master blush when he realized that he hadn't accounted the fact that Tokine had been touching him before.

"S-Shut up!" forced out Yoshimori as he turned away from the dog and grumbled to himself. "That's not the point here"

On the meantime Hakubi was busy checking up on Gen. "You sure you're alright?" asked the black demon dog as he hovered next to the ayakashi-hybrid. Gen was caught off guard by the concern but didn't show it. Instead he nodded with feign indifference. "Heh" Hakubi smirked as he focused his gaze on his master. "Lucky for you that Honey has quick reflexes. Wouldn't you agree GenGen?" he said proudly.

Again Gen said nothing and simply shrugged while stuffing his hands in his pockets. He didn't feel like mentioning that even if the Yukimura hadn't broken his fall the impact with the ground wouldn't have caused him significant damage. Plus who was he to stop the girl from receiving praises? It's not like he was expecting to receive some of them himself. That never happens anyways. Well, almost never. He still remembered the night when Yoshimori had acknowledged his efforts.

Speaking of the shorter boy, Yoshimori was already making his way toward them.

"Hey Shishio, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. You see, both Tokine and I have lived here since forever but we both feel differently about it. While Tokine thinks Karasumori is scary, I just think it's nothing but a stupid burden. But I'm curious about your opinion of it since you've been to many other places than this. I wanna know" Yoshimori asked.

He was still thinking about sealing up the site and he figured it wouldn't hurt to have an outsider's perspective on it. Plus if Gen knew of any places similar to Karasumori then it would probably help Yoshimori figure out what was so damn special about Karasumori.

Gen rubbed the back of his neck before regarding the Sumimura and informing the shorter boy that he had seen far scarier things than a piece of land. The night-trooper couldn't stop his mind from conjuring up the memory of his older sister being bloodily slashed by his own claws. He seen a lot of things but that still remained the scariest, if not most traumatic, thing he had ever experienced.

When Yoshimori inquired on what kind of scary stuff the ayakashi-hybrid had seen, Gen looked away and decided that he'd said enough. "Don't matter" he said while stretching his muscles. "If that's all for tonight's training then I better be going"

And with that he leaped away without so much as a goodbye.

"Typical" both dogs muttered at the same time with a deadpanned look on their faces.

"Grr, you'll see. I'll bring him back! Even if I have to bring him down to do it" declared a smirking Yoshimori as he readied his right hand. Next thing he knew he was nursing a bump on the back of his head. "What gives?" he complained to the one responsible for it.

"You'll do no such thing Yoshimori" answered back Tokine in a deceptively calm voice. She was also kind of pissed that the work they put unto their teamwork wasn't translating into bettering their relationship with each other outside of battle but she didn't think there was anything they could do about it.

"But Tokine" whined the male Kekkaishi. "Doesn't his attitude just tick you off sometimes? All I was doing was asking him a question!" he rambled on and on making the girl sighed.

"Well what did you expect? You know that Gen is a very introverted person" she lamented with a shake of her head before grabbing her staff and turning away. "But he's right, we should go. Goodnight Yoshimori" she stated as she left with Hakubi in tow.

Madarao just watched in amusement as his master kicked the dirt and grumbled to himself all the way home. The dog had to admit, there hadn't been a single boring night ever since Gen joined their merry bunch. It was the first time in all the years Madarao had watched over the Karasumori site that the legitimate heirs had accepted outside help after all.

The dog just hoped that nothing happens to change their little arrangement anytime soon. It would be a shame if their newest member suddenly had to leave for one reason or another.

**~0~0~0~**

That morning, as it commonly happened, Yoshimori was napping on his desk all throughout his lessons. Except this time he was rudely awaken by his teacher as said adult wanted the student to pay attention to the day's lecture. It was a story about a hero who ran for three days with all his might and persevered through many obstacles to save his friend just moments before his execution. The king of the tale, being so moved by their friendship, pardoned them for their misdoings.

When asked of his thoughts on the matter, Yoshimori answered that he found the story kinda boring. If it had been up to him Yoshimori would had annihilated the king for trying to kill his friend in the first place. That's something Yoshimori wouldn't let slide in a million years.

Yoshimori had made that declaration with such conviction that the teacher was left to wonder why he even bothered to wake his student up.

After that class ended Yoshimori decided that it was a good time as any to head for the rooftop. That way he would be able to nap in peace without anybody else disturbing his sleep. So making a shikigami to take his place in the classroom, the boy climbed the staircase for some much needed shuteye. Yet once he got there he found that it wasn't unoccupied.

"Shishio" Yoshimori called but got no reply. _'Is he sleeping?'_ he questioned inwardly. He moved closer to Gen in order to get a better view of his face. Yoshimori narrowed his eyes in observation and hmm-ed to himself. _'He's not faking it, is he?'_

Well if Gen was really sleeping, there was only one way to find out. And besides, this was the perfect opportunity to get revenge on him for running off on them last night. _'Heh heh'_ Yoshimori cackled inwardly as he pulled out a black marker from his uniform's front pocket. _'Let's see how you like being the center of the joke for once'_

The Sumimura took the lid off and slowly maneuvered the marker closer to Gen's face. Yoshimori was being careful, making sure he didn't make any noise that would alert the tanner male. However as the Kekkaishi was only an inch away from drawing a mustache, Gen abruptly opened his eyes and grabbed Yoshimori's offending hand by the wrist.

They stared at each other in tensed silence. Gen's condensing glare against Yoshimori's guilty look. Finally Gen gritted his teeth and, as calmly as he could, he asked the other boy what he was planning on doing with the black marker.

"April fool?" the Kekkaishi offered to see if the other would buy it. Apparently not.

"Nice try but we aren't anywhere near April"

"Um…" started Yoshimori while scratching his head with his free hand as he tried to muster up another excuse. "Happy Birthday?"

"That's your second strike" Gen informed as he tighten his grip on the Sumimura's wrist.

Yoshimori narrowed his eyes at that and pulled his hand away from Gen's grasp. "Well it's your fault for pretending to be asleep!" Yoshimori retorted before deciding to complement that statement by voicing another thing about Gen's behavior that pissed Yoshimori off. "And while we are on the subject of you ignoring me, would it kill you to at least nod my way every time you pass by me in the halls? We are not strangers you know!"

This time it was Gen who looked a bit guilty as he averted his gaze. "I, I didn't think that you would want people knowing that you were associated with me" he muttered.

"Huh? Why'd you think I wouldn't want something like that?" Yoshimori asked clearly confused by the other's statement.

"You know what, forget it. It's nothing" said Gen brushing it off as he rested his hands behind his head and laid down on the rooftop, closing his eyes in the process. Yoshimori chewed his lower lip in annoyance, perfectly aware that the other teen was trying to avoid answering yet another question. Nevertheless the Kekkaishi took out his pillow and settled himself down with his back against the floor.

After waiting for another couple of minutes to pass, Yoshimori watched the other student with the corner of his eye and took notice of something that was out of the ordinary. He closed his eyes before lazily making a comment on it.

"So Shishio, why are you here anyways? You never came up this early before"

"What, are you keeping tabs on me now?" Gen countered with another question like he usually did, his eyes remaining closed.

"Tsk, like I care anyways" Yoshimori grumbled as he rolled on his side and away from Gen. "At least think ahead a bring a pillow with you next time"

Gen opened one eye to stare at the back of Yoshimori's head before sighing and quietly admitting that he didn't have a spare pillow to bring to school. Yoshimori then replied by saying that it wouldn't be much of an inconvenience for him to bring an extra pillow for the other boy.

The ayakashi-hybrid turned his face completely to stare at the back of the shorter boy's head before moving his gaze toward the sky and wondering how he was supposed to respond to something like that. As if reading his mind Yoshimori mumbled about this being the part when other people usually said something along the lines of a 'thank you'.

Gen shook his head in amusement before deciding to comply with the Kekkaishi by muttering an indifferent "thank you".

Yoshimori's smirk went unnoticed by the other boy. Now that the Sumimura accomplished the nearly impossible task of turning a tensed situation into a comfortable silence, he felt like he just proven Tokine's perceptions of him wrong. _'Oh yeah, who's the reliable one now!'_ he chanted in his head in self-congratulations.

Now that everything was okay in the world again, Yoshimori felt like he earned his nap. So without further ado that's precisely what he did.

**~0~0~0~**

Later that day, back at Yoshimori's classroom, a conversation relating to the school's new transfer student was taking place between three girls.

"I feel bad for Aoi. Can't believe it happened to her again" Ayano puffed out after her latest plan to hook her friend up failed. "What hope is there for a girl like me if someone like her can't land the guy she wants?"

"What happened to Aoi?" asked Yurina not wanting to feel left out of whatever occurred involving her friend.

"She tried asking Gen out again and he totally blew her off" Ayano huffed as she rested her elbows on Yurina's desk. "I thought that if we ambushed him in the hallway as he was going to his classroom, and with a large audience of students around, that he would at least feel pressured to say a 'maybe'. But instead he just turned around and walked toward the stairs leading to the roof"

"Not so much as a word out of that stone fortress" added Kyoko, the taller one of Yurina's friends.

"Ah, so our Gen Shishio strikes again!" said Hiromu as he made his way toward the girls, Tomonori tagging along.

Kyoko placed her hands on her hips and raised a defiant eyebrow at them. "You know it's impolite to eavesdrop, right?"

Hiromu pretended not to hear her and instead took out his databook before addressing Ayano. "So Aoi you say; would that make her the third or fourth girl to approach Gen?"

"Try the first, but now I guess she is also the sixth" Ayano informed wistfully, not at all complaining about being the center of attention.

"So he has refused the advances of a total of five girls; that's definitely interesting" appraised Hiromu as he made a note of it in his book. "I wonder if this will increase or decrease his popularity with the ladies"

"What do you have so far on him?" asked Ayano for curiosity's sake.

"Unfortunately not much" said Hiromu with a sigh. "Nobody seems to know enough about him. What I _do_ know is that he keeps to himself and he doesn't talk much. And since he lives on his own I get the feeling that he isn't very close to his family"

"You forgot to say that he's a jerk" supplied Kyoko.

"And dangerous" added as misty-eyed Ayano, to which Kyoko rolled her eyes to. Ayano then blinked and sat up when she remembered something. "Oh, don't forget to mention that he scares Yuri here"

"N-No he doesn't" denied Yurina unsuccessfully as Ayano was quick to rat her out on it.

"Oh come on Yuri, weren't you the one who told us that Gen always wore a face that looks like he is going to stab someone?"

Yurina stammered at that but didn't get a chance to defend herself as Tomonori spoke up for the first time during the exchange. "You know, there's also the fact that Yoshimori apparently has it out on him" he commented as he cleaned his glasses.

"Which brings me to my next point!" began Hiromu, raising a finger to bring the attention back to himself. "Gen has no known friends within the school grounds. Not a single one" he affirmed with a nod of his head. "Pretty mysterious if you ask me"

"That's not true!" exclaimed Yurina with her fists under her chin and her eyes closed. "I happen to know that him and Sumimura-kun get along just fine" she stated before opening her eyes and reeling back when she saw everyone's stares being focused on her.

"And _how_ exactly would you know that?" questioned Kyoko skeptically.

"Ooh don't tell me your six sense is coming back!" said Ayano cheerfully.

"I-I ah" Yunina stuttered. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't exactly say that she knew they were working together at night fighting ghosts and stuff; her friends would think she was off her rocker. But what other excuse could she make up? She tried thinking hard of one but her mind combusted and her eyes started to swirl.

"We lost her" stated Ayano while Kyoko sighed.

It was at that moment that Yoshimori entered the classroom and headed straight to his seat; laying his head flat on the desk once he got there. Hiromu detached himself from the group and sat in the desk in front of Yoshimori, knocking on the wood to rouse him up.

"What is it?" yawned Yoshimori while lifting his head slightly to face Hiromu.

"Just hoping to confirm something" said Hiromu taking a pen out and positioning it atop of the page he had reserved for the transfer student. "How true is the rumor that you and Gen are getting along?" he asked quickly getting to the point and without revealing his sources.

Yoshimori scrunched up his face in confusion, silently wondering why the other boy wanted to know that. He didn't plan on answering at first but then he remembered the conversation he had at the rooftop a few hours ago. He had just denied Shishio's theory that the Kekkaishi didn't want anyone knowing he was associated with Gen, so now Yoshimori felt obligated to honor that and prove that Gen's doubts were unfounded.

"I guess that has to be true considering we are friends" he stated slowly, trying to gauge his inquisitor's reaction.

Hiromu's eyes widen at that. "Wow, really? That's excellent news!" he said while scribbling another note on his databook. "Now you have to tell me everything you know about him"

"Huh, why would I do that?" questioned the Sumimura.

"Are you kidding me?" retorted Hiromu looking at the other like if he was retarded. "Gen is so popular that the girls in school already started a fan club. His wild look is like an endangered specie and that has people longing to take him into custody for conservation!" he exclaimed before toning it down and giving Yoshimori and expectant look. "Consequently girls want to know everything there is to know about him and they come to me for this information; but I feel like I have already explained that to you"

Yoshimori wasn't sure he needed to hear all that information. In fact he would have preferred not knowing that Gen was _that_ popular with the girls. _'Damn, some guys have all the luck'_ he grumbled inwardly. But that didn't change the fact that Yoshimori wasn't planning on revealing anything.

"Well sucks for you because I don't really know much about him" he replied firmly.

"What?" questioned Hiromu. "How can you say that? It's not like I'm asking for much this time. I just need something to bait the girls with. Anything will do really" he tried to persuade but Yoshimori remained unconvinced.

Hiromu sighed and decided to take a different route. "Alright Yoshimori, you win. I guess I'll just have to conform with the basic information" he said, inwardly smirking when he saw the Sumimura lowering his guard. "Just tell me, do you know the place where Gen originally comes from or what kind of shows he watches? Is he into any sport in particular and does he have favorite school subject?"

Yoshimori blinked as he was slowly starting to realize that even if he was willing to share that information, which he wasn't, he didn't really know the answers to those questions. Hiromu seemed to be catching on as well and raised a skeptical eyebrow at Yoshimori.

"What? Don't tell me that you don't even know what his favorite color is?" he questioned and was a little shocked when he saw the way Yoshimori grimaced. Hiromu closed his book and tilted his head to the side. "Wait, I'm confused. Didn't you just finish telling me that you were friends? If that's so then how is it that you can't even tell me the little things?"

Hiromu stared at the other student a little while longer before sighing in defeat and moving to his assigned desk. Again he felt like he was back to square one with the data regarding the transfer student. Meanwhile a thousand thoughts per minute were racing inside of Yoshimori's head.

When the Sumimura had said earlier that he didn't know much about Shishio, he wasn't aware of how true that statement was.

'_But so what? It's not like Shishio knows much about me either. I mean besides the fact that he figured out that I like Tokine and that I told him that I don't like being the legitimate heir, there ain't anything else that he knows… well okay, he knows of my obsession with coffee-milk. And that I make pastries. And that I like to nap. And he _has_ met my family… Crap, he knows every important thing about me!'_ he mentally yelped.

'_Wait, what do I know about Shishio? There must be something! Well I do know his past but it wasn't him who told me about that. I also know that he doesn't like sweets but again it wasn't him who mentioned it. Since he doesn't really tell me anything how the heck am I supposed to know what he likes! But hey, Tokine said that he was introverted so it's not my fault that I don't know anything, right?'_

Yet even though Yoshimori thought that was a valid excuse for his lack of knowledge, he still wasn't feeling completely convinced by it. _'…I'm not a bad friend, am I?'_

**~0~0~0~**

Later that day Yoshimori found himself dragging his feet up to Gen's apartment. Upon reaching his door Yoshimori slouched his shoulders, rang the bell and waited for the standard greeting.

"I don't need a newspaper subscription"

"Hmm, you really feel strongly about that don't ya?" commented the Sumimura who then straighten up in surprise when he heard footsteps coming to answer the door. Yoshimori blinked twice when said door opened without further discussion and out came its owner. "Um, hi" Yoshimori said not knowing why he suddenly felt awkward for just standing there.

"It's you" Gen acknowledged as he gave a quick onceover to the shorter boy; noticing that the visitor didn't bring anything with him this time around.

"So" Yoshimori started, feeling apprehensive because of the other's scrutinizing stare but not wanting to let it show. "Do I pass inspection?"

Instead of answering, Gen voiced a question of his own. "Is this going to become a recurring thing with you?" he asked flatly, referring to Yoshimori's constant visits.

"Why, is that a problem?" he countered; but when Gen's only answer was a fixed glare, Yoshimori hunched his shoulders again and began dragging his feet forward. "Look, I'm tired. Let me lay down for a minute" he said while shoving his way below Gen's arm to enter the apartment and moving toward the dining room.

Gen palmed the side of his face with his right hand to quench his rising irritation at the other boy's intrusion before closing the door and following after his 'guest'. The ayakashi-hybrid sweat dropped when he found the Sumimura slumped haphazardly on the floor at the other end of the dinner table.

"What's up with you?" Gen felt obligated to ask. All he received for his troubles were incoherent mumblings. Not knowing what else to do Gen sat on his side of the table and observed the moping heap that was supposed to be Yoshimori before coming to a conclusion. "That girl gave you the cold shoulder again, didn't she?"

"N-No! Wrong!" defended an exasperated Yoshimori suddenly sitting up. He then dropped his head sideways on the table while meekly drawing imaginary circles on it with his left hand. "It's just that… I was just… called… noisy"

The ayakashi-hybrid remained unmoved by the confession.

"…Aren't you already used to it?" he asked not seeing what the problem was. "It's normal for her to say that. That's your way of getting along"

"Huh? Tokine and me are getting along? Really, you really think so?" Yoshimori exclaimed putting both hands on the table before leaning forward. "After all she gets angry quickly, and we always fight, and-"

As Yoshimori kept listing all the things that goes wrong in that relationship, Gen was silently agreeing with the Yukimura. _'He really is noisy'_ he thought before putting a stop to the other boy's rambling. "Yeah, that's how I see it anyways"

"I see" replied Yoshimori staring into space with a happy smile formed on his lips because of the idea of Tokine and him having a good relationship with each other. "Oh that's right" said Yoshimori as he shifted his gaze toward the tanner male. "Shishio, do you have anyone you like?"

"No" denied Gen getting caught off guard by the question.

"Like Atora or something" continued Yoshimori purposely ignoring the first answer.

"Wha- Why is it Atora?" Gen questioned looking taken aback.

"Because it looked like you two got along pretty well" answered the Sumimura like it should've been the most obvious thing to assume in the world.

"I just can't oppose her! Do you even know how old she is? That's 10 years older than me!"

"What? Age difference is nothing! I'll cheer for you!"

"…You are on your own in wanting to cheer for me" Gen informed indubitably.

"Don't be like that" Yoshimori whined. "There must be _someone_ that you like"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Gen snapped before facing away as he felt embarrassed for losing his composure so quickly. He hadn't meant to snap at Yoshimori but all the questions were beginning to annoy the night-trooper. Didn't the other understand his situation already?

Yoshimori closed his mouth and also turned his face away to scowl at the wall. He _did_ remember their conversation around the time Gen had first rejected that girl named Aoi. The ayakashi-hybrid had mentioned something along the lines of nobody being able to like him once they find out who he really was, but that still sounded unlikely to Yoshimori. Especially when he considered how popular Hiromu said that Gen already was with the girls at school.

Minutes passed in tensed silence and it was starting to unnerved Gen. He wanted the other to speak up but it seemed like Yoshimori wasn't willing to start the conversation this time around. Gen figured he needed to apologize for snapping earlier at the other boy but thought it was a little too late for that. So instead he put on a face of indifference and pretended that they hadn't had a fallout just a minute ago.

"So" Gen started but since his voice came out hesitant he coughed into his right hand and trying again. "Did you come here just to mope about the Yukimura?"

"No…" trailed Yoshimori turning his head to face the ayakashi-hybrid; and Gen noted that there wasn't even a trace of animosity left in the Kekkaishi's face. "I came here to talk to you, duh"

"Why?"

"Because" responded Yoshimori scratching the back of his head nervously. "Do I really need a reason to talk to a friend?"

"I, I guess not" answered Gen breaking eye contact. He still wasn't used to being referred to as a 'friend' so he was yet to feel comfortable with the word being tossed at him with such directness. Yoshimori however thought that Gen's action conveyed a different meaning, and soon the Kekkaishi's worries from school began to surface again.

"You don't think I'm a bad friend, do you?" he asked tentatively, making Gen look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Not particularly" Gen answered cautiously. He could guess that Yoshimori probably hadn't put together the obvious fact that he was Gen's first friend; therefore making all knowledge the night-trooper had on friendship start and end with the Kekkaishi. Gen briefly considered mentioning this fact to the other boy but then again Gen didn't exactly want to sound more pathetic than he felt. So in the end he stayed quiet.

Yoshimori didn't need to hear much more anyways. He seemed fully content with just knowing that he wasn't a bad friend. Yoshimori nodded to himself once more before addressing the other boy again. "So, is there anything you want to talk about? I mean I already bothered you with my problems so it's only fair if I listen to yours"

"I don't have any problems" Gen was hasty to establish, making the Sumimura narrow his eyes suspiciously.

"Really now? Because that sounded like bull to me" he stated. This was his one and only opportunity to learn something, _anything_, about the night-trooper directly from his mouth and Yoshimori wasn't going to waste it. "Are you sure there's nothing you would like to share with your _friend_?"

Now it was Gen's turn to narrow his eyes at the shorter boy. The way Yoshimori had stretched the last word alerted Gen on an ulterior motive being involved in this. It peeved Gen that he had no idea what that motive could be. Still, he had to admit that there _was_ something he was still mulling over from a couple of days ago. He guessed he might as well ask about it since Yoshimori seemed all too willing to help.

"Actually, there is something that's been bothering me" Gen admitted making the other boy devote him his complete attention. The ayakashi-hybrid tried to not look away this time no matter how much he wanted to. "Your pet said something to me the other day. I'm not sure what he meant by it but I can't seem to shake it off my head"

"Please, you're probably better off forgetting about it!" Yoshimori groaned looking put-off, if not a little disappointed, that it had to do with his dog. "Believe me; you can never take anything Madarao says seriously. Everything to him is a joke! Trust me when I tell you that that dog has no loyalties whatsoever. Everyone is a target to him and he doesn't discriminate based on species or gender either"

"What do you mean by that?" Gen asked finding Yoshimori's phrasing in the last part to be a little weird.

"Come again? You mean you can't tell? That dog is as straight as a rainbow, gay as a Christmas tree or whatever other comparison you want to make" Yoshimori stated casually as if he was talking about the weather; or in his case, about taking naps during the day.

As Yoshimori went on to mentioning how Madarao had a crush on the Founder 400 years ago and probably on Kouya the mountain dog too, Gen was having a revelation of his own.

'_So that's what he meant when he said that we were alike… but wait, does that mean that he knows about me?'_ Gen thought in alarm. _'How could he even tell in the first place? I wasn't being obvious was I?'_

"…and that's Madarao for you" Yoshimori finished while stretching his arms over his head. "Which reminds me, is there anyone you like Shishio?"

The question immediately brought Gen out of his musings. "What, that again?" he reproached as he stood up.

"Well yeah" replied Yoshimori also standing up. "You still haven't answered"

"I think I did" stated Gen staring at the clock to see what time it was. "And it is almost night so you should be heading home to get ready" he said turning to show the other boy to the door. He however was stopped by a hand on his elbow, leaving him with no option but to turn his head to stare at the boy responsible for it.

"No you didn't" said Yoshimori moving to stand in front of Gen. "You just told me why you thought people wouldn't like you, but that has nothing to do with _you_ liking someone" Yoshimori argued tired of the way Gen kept avoiding the questions.

"I don't like anyone in that way. And even if I did that is none of your business"

"Not fair, everybody likes someone! And besides you already know I like Tokine so why can't you trust me enough to tell me who you like? Unless… don't tell me that you also like Tokine?"

"For the last time I don't! We've already been over that and I explained it to you. And it's not because there is something wrong with her. I just can't like her!"

"Is it because she's older?"

"That has nothing to do with it okay! Why can't you just accept that they aren't my type?"

"Wait, 'they'? What do you mean by that?" asked Yoshimori finding something odd about the way the taller boy had said that.

"Just forget it!" growled Gen as he pushed pass the Kekkaishi before he could make another slipup. Gen was losing his composure by the minute and it was better to leave before he did something he'd regret.

Unfortunately Yoshimori wasn't on the same page as him.

"No I won't!" declared the Sumimura as he latched his hand to Gen's shoulder to keep him from escaping. "There's obviously something important that you are not telling me and I'm not leaving until you do!"

"You're being noisy" Gen expressed with anger seeping through his voice.

"And you're being stubborn!" Yoshimori countered. "I mean ain't your big secret that you are an ayakashi-hybrid? If I already know that then why can't you tell me some- Mmp!"

Yoshimori never got to finish that sentence as just as he was speaking Gen spun around, grabbed the shorter boy by the collar of his shirt and pulled Yoshimori upward in order to flatten his mouth against Gen's own.

The brusque exchange didn't last long as a seething Gen quickly pulled the other away so that he could glare at him. "Well? Does that answer your question? Do you understand now why I can't like the Yukimura or _any other girl_?" he asked angrily.

Yoshimori could only stare with wide eyes as he stood frozen. The ability to breathe was literally stolen from him by the unexpected turn of events. He slowly brought a trembling hand up to his lips and shakily whispered "You kissed me"

It was then that Gen was finally hit with the gravity of what he just did.

'_No'_ Gen took a step backward and released his grip on Yoshimori's collar. "No" he mouthed as he took in the state of shock the other boy was in. The Sumimura was completely unresponsive. "I, I" Gen started but didn't know how to finish. His hands were starting to shake as well.

'_What have I done? I ruined everything'_ he denounced inwardly. _'My first friend, what did I do? He's going to hate after this'_ Gen's heart gave a painful constriction at that notion and he knew he had to get away. He took two more steps in reverse which resulted with him colliding with the wall behind him, the contact proving to be the trigger to Gen's fight-or-flight instincts that sent him into a mad dash that only ended way after he had fled the apartment.

Meanwhile Yoshimori felt his knees buckle under his own weight and crashed backwards on his ass. Upon impact Yoshimori lungs seemed to remember how to breathe and sucked in a sharp intake of air as he tried unsuccessfully to fight down the incoming panic attack. If anything he was way pass the point of freaking out.

His hands were firmly planted on the floor in fear that he would further lose his balance if he moved them. So many thoughts were running through his head that it was impossible to concentrate on just one. They ranged everywhere from questioning why had Shishio done something like that, to questioning how was he going to be able to face Tokine after losing his first kiss to someone else, and everything in between like wondering if this was his punishment for being too noisy.

'_Crap, what am I supposed to do now?'_

**~0~0~0~**

Needless to say that training that night did not go so well; or to be more specific, it did _not_ happened at all.

Tokine had arrived early and was pleasantly surprised to see Gen already there. She thought that they could get a head start on working on their teamwork but then the night-trooper took off the moment they felt Yoshimori arrive.

The Yukimura was left puzzled by it but when she turned to ask Yoshimori about it, the Sumimura shouted a "PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" before running off to another direction.

"Well that was random" stated Hakubi.

"…Is it me or did Yoshimori seemed to be nervous around me?" she wondered aloud.

"Who ever really knows with that kid" answered Hakubi with a frown. "What are you going to do about it Honey?"

Tokine took a moment to think about it before deciding to let it slide for tonight. But if the boys didn't get their act together by this time tomorrow, she was going to make a forceful intervention. She had no doubt in her ability to bully Yoshimori into 'fessing up to her after all.

And with that the three protectors of Karasumori went yet another night working separately.

**~0~0~0~**

Next morning was a solemn one in the Sumimura Household. Yoshimori's dad tried to act like nothing was wrong but Yoshimori could see the grief in his movements. Yet he knew that it was his Grandpa that was hurting the most at the passing of an old friend so it was him whom the fourteen year old tried to reach.

He found his grandfather sitting alone in the backyard and went to lean against the wall next to him. Yoshimori tilted his head back and stared at the clouds as he offered words of support.

"Just heard the news, I'm very sorry I wasn't there to do something. Shishio was at Karasumori last night. You could've called me. I would've gone with you"

Shigemori gave a simple shake of his head to that. "You really are an idiot, you know that?" he said with no real bite in it.

"Huh? What the heck" Yoshimori muttered.

"What if they had attacked Karasumori and you had been away? You would just leave the other two to fend on their own?"

"Eh, well-"

"Even if you lose your friends, a night that's passed can never be relived. You have a duty to fulfill; never lose sight of what matters the most" Shigemori preached before sighing and lamenting to himself. "The truth is that if I just had stayed by his side then none of this would had happened"

Yoshimori glanced at his grandfather with the corner of his eye before puffing in resignation and staring at the sky again.

'_But you got there as fast as you could. I guess in real life things don't go the same way they did to the hero in my teacher's story. And that sucks because that was probably Gramps last living friend'_

The teen then excused himself and went to get ready for school.

'_I wonder if I'll end up like Grandpa one day. After all I do have a lot of friends… well maybe not _that_ many. I mean they are friends, right?'_ he deliberated as he reviewed them one by one. _'Tomonori is a friend, although we don't actually talk much now that I think about it. But Hiromu for sure talks to me! And they both know my likes and dislikes… but we don't hang with each other outside of school, or do much in it to be honest. Wait, doesn't that just make us regular classmates? Damn, but it's not like it's my fault! I can't exactly get close enough to them because then they will start asking about my private life and I can't exactly tell them what I do…_

_Oh, but Yuri knows because she can see ghost too and we are always talking about it so she counts as a friend, right? But then again I know even less about her than I know about Shi- TOKINE!'_ the boy shouted inwardly to prevent his thoughts from traveling the path where it were currently heading.

'_Tokine and I know everything there is to know about each other. Heck, we were even childhood friends so that has to trump everything! Yep, nothing can get between us… well, except for the fact that our clans are feuding. Plus she forbids me from talking to her during school hours. Now that I think about it we only get to talk when we are at Karasumori and even then it's only about stuff relating to work… Crap, don't I have anyone that I can hang out with without worrying about anything else?'_

His left hand instantly went to touch his lips as his mind supplied the image of Gen. After yesterday's events Yoshimori was resistant to letting his thoughts go anywhere near the ayakashi-hybrid. But now that he was calm and alone the Sumimura guessed it wouldn't hurt to try and figure out where their relationship stood. Gen was still a friend candidate, regardless of what happened.

'_He kissed me'_ Yoshimori felt the need to reinstate before he could go anywhere. _'But it wasn't like he did it because he liked me that way, right? I mean he only did it because it was the fastest way to tell me what his preferences were without actually having to say anything. Yeah, that's it!'_ Yoshimori's face lit up at the possibilities that idea entailed.

'_Yoshimori you genius you. And they called you an idiot. Ha! Everyone knows that Shishio likes to keep things bottled up so it's obvious that he wouldn't know how to communicate something without acting it out. Besides, I _was_ being noisy so he probably did it to shut me up also. Mmhmm, very sly of Shishio indeed'_

The Sumimura nodded his head in affirmation. It felt like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders.

'_And now that I know his secrets the same way he knows mine, there's no real reason why we wouldn't be able to hang together. I mean don't we kinda already do? We see each other every day and he doesn't have a no-speaking policy at school like Tokine does. In fact we've had some pretty good conversations at the rooftop already. Plus we get to see each other again every night'_

Yoshimori stopped what he was doing when a sudden revelation assaulted him. "Wait, doesn't all that technically make Shishio out to be closest thing I have to a real friend?" he questioned aloud as he stared unfocusedly at his backpack. That revelation came packaged with another far more pressing question. _'Am I willing to lose that?'_ he asked himself before contemplating something else. _'As a matter of fact I don't even know if he still considerers me his friend to begin with. I _did_ react pretty badly yesterday'_

And it was then that Yoshimori's eyes really widen. All this time he had been thinking about how he felt about the whole ordeal that he totally forgot to consider what Gen thought of the situation. Now that Yoshimori thought about it, Gen looked just as scared or even more freaked out than Yoshimori was about what happened in the apartment.

'_I mean he fled his own home didn't he?_' Yoshimori acknowledged. Furthermore they didn't encounter each other at all last night. When Gen got it in his head that he didn't want to see someone he really put his everything into making it so; which led Yoshimori to another complication. _'He's gonna avoid me at school as well isn't he?'_

At the pace they were going it seemed like they would never get the opportunity to make things right again. That is _unless_ the Sumimura could figure out a way to catch the other by surprise in a place where the ayakashi-hybrid wouldn't risk escaping.

**~0~0~0~**

Gen sat on his desk, face hidden between his folded arms. To the rest of the world it looked like he was sleeping but in reality he was just waiting for the intermission between periods to end. He figured that if he pretended to be asleep then none of his classmates would bother him. And once the teacher entered the room and started the next lesson, Gen would be spared from people approaching him. Then after the class was over he could just leave the school and not come back until his shift at night.

It kinda surprised him how easily it was for him to fall back on his original routine, the one he had when he lacked further life expectations. Last night he was sure that he wouldn't be able to go to school because of the risk of coming in contact with the Sumimura, but this morning Gen woke up finding that he didn't care.

At first Gen didn't believe his psyche would withstand the fact that he basically destroyed whatever hope his new friendship had. He was certain that he would fall into depression. But he didn't.

Funny how life works.

It was like he already knew deep in soul that their friendship wouldn't last. And now that the outcome was proven to be true he didn't feel as affected because unconsciously he was already resigned to it. He just had to accept the fact for what it was and move on.

He still had his mission after all. That's all he really needed to get by. If anything his life would go back to the way it was before he started befriending the Kekkaishi. Plain, linear and without things to distract him from his responsibilities. Then one day, after he completed the mission, he could go back to the Shadow Organization and not think about Karasumori or its protectors ever again.

That was the plan at least. As long as he didn't deviate from it he would be able to cut down on his loses.

'_And besides, it's better this way. They were going to end up hating me sooner or later so at least this time it will be for something other than me being a monster. Someone like me couldn't possibly ask for anything better than that'_

"Shishio"

'_Great'_ Gen thought. He needed to stop thinking about the Sumimura because he could swear that he started hearing the other's voice in his head.

"Hey Shishio, can you lend me your English textbook?"

'_What?' _Gen lifted his head and saw the cause of his distress standing right next to him. _'Am I hallucinating?'_ he thought as he sat up straight. The surprise did not show on his face though.

However the shock was clearly written in the faces of all the students populating the classroom. They distanced themselves and huddled together into small groups as they whispered among themselves. They wanted to know just _who_ did that kid _thought_ he was when he _dared_ approach their untouchable classmate with such familiarity. They all felt their eyes bug out when they saw how their normally silent classmate opened his mouth as if to speak. They could not believe an actual interaction was about to happen!

"English textbook?" Gen answered with an unreadable expression while on the inside he was sweating bullets. He would have been fine if Yoshimori had given him the cold shoulder, but to have the shorter boy standing so casually in front of him looking like he didn't have a care in the world was _not_ something Gen had prepared himself for. _'Is this some kind of trap?'_

"Didn't you have English just now?" asked Yoshimori raising his eyebrows.

What was Yoshimori getting at? Gen wasn't sure what the other boy was planning but the ayakashi-hybrid didn't plan on staying to find out. It was then that he noticed the blue kekkai surrounding the entire classroom. Students kept slipping through it so that meant that the kekkai was only designed for him. Gen knew he could easily break through it, but that would mean bringing unnecessary attention to himself.

'_He set me up'_ Gen realized with unease. The night-trooper had thought that if he stayed in his classroom instead of going to the rooftop he would be safe from having this confrontation. He didn't count on Yoshimori approaching him inside the classroom. And now that Gen was surrounded by so many witnesses/eavesdroppers, he had to be careful of what he did or said. "…I don't have it" he answered warily, giving no hint of his internal conflict.

"What do you mean you don't have it?" Yoshimori asked with a hint of confusion. "What are you putting in your bag then?"

Gen couldn't understand it. Why was the other boy acting like yesterday never happened? Why did Yoshimori act like they were still friends? In front of so many people too! Wasn't be bothered by who the tanner male turned out to be? Why wasn't he outright rejecting Gen? Could it be that Yoshimori had already forgiven him?

"…Nothing" replied Gen making Yoshimori's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean 'nothing'?" questioned an exasperated Yoshimori. "Then what are you coming to school for?"

"Then why didn't you bring it yourself?" countered Gen surprising himself with how natural it came for him to enter into another one of those back-and-forth arguments he had grown accustomed to having with the Kekkaishi. It literally felt like nothing had changed between them; and for a minute there Gen started questioning if he had maybe blown things out of proportion.

"Why you ask? Because I had to make space in my backpack to bring another pillow, that's why!" Yoshimori shot back as if it should had been obvious.

"Another pillow" Gen muttered before remembering how the Kekkaishi had mentioned something about bringing an extra pillow for the night-trooper. Gen could not believe that Yoshimori actually went through with that. But before he could say anything else on the matter, Yoshimori continued to rant.

"And I apparently brought it for nothing since you never showed up" Yoshimori grumbled before crossing his arms over his chest and voicing what was on his mind. "So to make it up to me you are now obligated to accept a dinner invitation at my house. Dad's been pestering me to have you come over for a while now so if you want everything to be good between us again then you'll accept because I'm not taking no for an answer. Got it?"

Gen couldn't keep his face expressionless at that and found himself tightening his lips into a thin line and hesitantly nodding his head.

"Alright!" proclaimed Yoshimori with a smile. "Then talk to you later" he said while spinning around and leaving the room as unceremoniously as he came. The chatter within the classroom immediately resumed at full force after that as the students were trying to figure out what they just played witness to. But Gen took no notice of this; tuning it out in favor of far more dire issues.

The ayakashi-hybrid was so prepared to lose a friend that it hadn't affected him much when he eventually thought he did. But regaining a friend was never part of the plan and its effect on him were a whole different story altogether. He couldn't describe half the feelings that were coursing inside him but it scared him that he felt so elated. He had never felt that way before.

Yet that wasn't what was bothering him now.

Gen gripped the edges of his desk hard enough to dent them but that didn't register with him. Something else, something that happened a moment ago was calling for his undivided attention. Something that he was afraid could change everything.

Just then, when Yoshimori had smiled at the tanner male before leaving, Gen's heart had skipped a beat. That was a serious thing indeed.

'_Don't, don't tell me... I'm falling for him'_

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N:** Woo, another chapter in the bag. Anyways, as you can see, something happened in this chapter that CAN'T be undone and Gen is already starting to feel the aftermath of it. But answer me this, "how many of you really think that Yoshimori will be able to stay _that_ unaffected by what happened in the apartment?" Huh, no one? I thought so. Until later!


	5. Strange Feelings

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait. I assure you that it had _nothing_ to do with writer's block and _everything _to do with my low paying job. But enough of petty excuses and on with the chapter!

**PS:** Sorry for not being able to reply to most of your reviews last chapter. I appreciate them though so I'll try to be better at it this time around.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_I am going away for a while _

_But I'll be back don't try and follow me_

'_Cause I'll return as soon as possible,_

_See I'm trying to find my place_

_And it might not be here where I feel safe_

_We all learn to make mistakes,_

_And run from them, from them_

_With no direction_

'_**Misguided Ghosts' by Paramore**_

* * *

**Chapter 5: Strange Feelings**

Yoshimori rushed out of his house as he took too much time getting ready for school. And no, it had nothing to do with homework, a late breakfast or even ironing his uniform. With Yoshimori everything was about cakes… and Tokine.

See, the Sumimura heir had spent countless hours grueling over the recipe of what was to be his next spectacular creation. Now, after much dedication and hard work, Yoshimori was certain that he had achieved it. A cake that even the skeptics would have to concede that it was the tastiest thing ever!

The boy had no doubt that it would impress Tokine to the point that she would compliment him of it, or even better, ask for another bite! Unfortunately, he hadn't thought ahead and forgot about storing it in a container and, more importantly, about hiding it in a place where his grandpa wouldn't catch sight of it.

Consequently that morning Yoshimori had to fight to secure a piece of the cake, which took precious minutes of his morning schedule. Because of this he missed his chance to leave the house at the same time that Tokine did; and now he was running in hopes of catching up to her before she reaches the school gates.

Heaven knows that she _wouldn't_ allow him to come within ten feet of her once she did.

'_Please, please, please. Don't let it be too late!'_

A few meters ahead of him, and already having turned the corner, Tokine was busy mulling over fighting strategies she would like to test out later at night during training. As she finished thinking up a new way she could combine her abilities with the other Kekkaishi in order to attack and defend simultaneously, she heard someone shouting her name.

Turning around, she was not surprised to see it was Yoshimori who was calling out to her. Tokine was about to voice her rule about not being seen with each other during school hours but thought better of it when she took in the boy's disheveled appearance. Whatever Yoshimori wanted was probably urgent.

"Yoshimori, are you alright? What is it?" asked the girl with a hint of worry once the boy caught up with her. She heard about the recent attack Kokubourou had made and was wondering if something to the same effects happened again.

The Sumimura had one hand on his bent knees while holding the other hand up to signal the Yukimura to wait for him to catch his breath. Once he did, he dropped his backpack right in front of him and went through it as he amicably explained the situation to the girl.

"Boy Tokine, I sure am glad I caught up with you in time. I knew I could do it if I ran fast enough. I had to bump a few pedestrians out of the way though but now I know it was all worth it" he rambled before pulling out a white container from his backpack and presenting it to Tokine.

Said girl blinked a few times at it before giving Yoshimori a flat stare. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you guessed a super delicious looking cake then yes it is!" replied Yoshimori with a bright smile as he removed the lid of the container to show off his creation. Then he got noticeably bashful as he went on with his proposal, "I was thinking that maybe we could try a piece together before going to school. What do you say?"

Tokine's stare remained flat as if trying to discern whether or not the boy in front of her was being serious. Not long afterwards she shook her head and sighed.

Here she was getting apprehensive because she thought some kind of emergency had happened only for it to turn out to be all about cakes. _'How can Yoshimori even find the time for that when we have danger looming over our heads? Doesn't he have a sense of responsibility at all?'_ Tokine thought to herself. Those thoughts were interrupted when she heard another voice calling out to her; one she recognized as belonging to her classmate, Kirara Kawakami**.** This meant that it was her time to leave.

Focusing back on Yoshimori, and deciding that the situation called for some though love, Tokine felt like she had to decline his offer. Who knows, maybe this way the male Kekkaishi would get his priorities straight and dedicate himself on more important matters.

"Sorry Yoshimori but I have better things to do than to eat cake and I suggest that you do the same" said Tokine unemotionally as she readjusted her schoolbag on her shoulder and turned away. She spared on final glance at the boy and stated how Yoshimori "could be a kid sometimes" before walking away to reestablish the distance between them.

Yoshimori could only gape disbelievingly at Tokine's back as she unceremoniously met up with a classmate and escaped his line of vision.

**x-x-** (Scene 5 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination) **-x-x**

_AlternateReality!Tokine: What, you're still doing cakes? Haha hahaha! Sorry Yoshimori, but I can't be seen hanging around someone as unmanly as you. You understand right?_

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x **

The Sumimura slowly brought down the lid to seal the container once more with only one question staying prominent in his mind. _'Did she, did she just ditched me?'_

**~0~0~0~**

When Gen climbed up to the roof that day he was welcomed with the sight of Yoshimori looking gloomy with his head down and his hair shielding his eyes. The Kekkaishi was sitting on the floor with a pair of chopsticks in hand which he was using to sullenly poke an empty white box with. Crumbs of whatever he ate littered his uniform and some of it was even around his mouth.

Gen stared for a minute longer before shrugging it off and moving to settle himself on his chosen spot. Laying back with his hands behind his head as usual, the night-trooper chanced another glance toward the Kekkaishi. The position Gen was now in gave him a perfect view of Yoshimori's face; and just as the ayakashi-hybrid had guessed, the shorter teen was spacing out.

He strongly considered leaving Yoshimori as he was; nonetheless, Gen had a feeling that if he did that then the other boy would nag him later for not striking up conversation. Either way the tanner male couldn't win. Hence he chose the alternative that didn't have the added effect of giving him a headache.

So closing his eyes with calculated indifference and coughing audibly into his right hand; Gen felt, rather than heard, Yoshimori stirring out of his daze.

"Wha- Shishio! H-How- what are you doing here?" stammered out the Sumimura as he hastily went to put everything away in his backpack. Yoshimori was beyond embarrassed at being caught in his haze; not to mention that he never noticed Gen coming. _'Crap, how long has he been there?'_ he chided inwardly.

"Not moping about the Yukimura if that's what you're asking" replied Gen nonchalantly. That made Yoshimori sputter and demand to know how the ayakashi-hybrid knew that it had to do with Tokine. Gen resisted the urge to roll his eyes because really, when did it ever _not_ involve the girl?

Instead of answering, Gen opened his eyes and regarded the other male. The night-trooper pressed a thumb across his lower lip to indicate to the Sumimura that he should first wipe the crumbs out of his face. At this Yoshimori haphazardly gave his back to the taller teen while pressing the sleeve of his left arm to his mouth.

Gen had assumed that Yoshimori did that to clean his face but the night-trooper was only partly correct in his assessment. You see, the moment Gen brought attention to his lips, Yoshimori was assaulted with the memory of what happened the last time he visited the other's apartment. The image came so vividly that the Kekkaishi had to turn his face away to camouflage his wince. Fortunately the crumbs provided him with a good enough cover.

'_S-Shit, why did I suddenly think about that?'_ Yoshimori frantically asked himself as his brain involuntarily supplied him with more images of the time Gen had abruptly kissed him without so much as a warning.

Unaware of the other's inner turmoil, Gen closed his eyes and thought of the Yukimura again. He knew that the Kekkaishis had some kind of weird relationship established but… "Sometimes I wonder if she even likes you" he muttered quietly under his breath.

Having heard that, Yoshimori, whose ears were trained to be perceptive of anything Tokine related, quickly turned his body around and interjected in his defense.

"It's not that she doesn't like me; the problem is that she likes me too much!" he exclaimed while opening his arms as wide as he could to emphasize how _much_. This was the only conclusion Yoshimori came up with while he was spacing out earlier that sounded logical to him. "When I look into her eyes, all I can see is her screaming at me to hurry up and kiss her. She wants me so much that it scares her so she pushes me away, I know it!"

Yoshimori was breathing heavily after making such large proclamation. Gen started at him with an unreadable expression before adverting his gaze and muttering an unconvinced "…sure"

The Sumimura hung his head low at that. _'Great, now he thinks that I'm delusional'_ he thought sarcastically. _'So much for that theory'_ he whined inwardly but it wasn't like he actually believed it himself. Yoshimori lifted his head again to glance at the ayakashi-hybrid and realized that the uncomfortable feeling he had before was no longer there.

'_That's right, I can do this'_ the Kekkaishi assured himself. _'Shishio is not acting any different from before. There's no reason for us to get awkward just because something like, like _that_… yeah, we can just pretend like nothing happened. That's um, yeah'_ he finished lamely in his head; not willing to let his thoughts wander back to _that_ moment.

Nodding to himself once, Yoshimori thought that now was a good time as any to put his plan in motion. After all, even if his plan backfired Yoshimori could always run to his classroom for protection. He knew from experience that the night-trooper preferred to avoid bringing attention to himself, so the Kekkaishi figured that he would be safe as long as he surrounded himself with other students for the rest of the day. _'Better now than never I suppose'_

Managing to hold back a mischievous grin at what he was about to do wasn't an easy task; but the fact that Gen wasn't paying the shorter boy any attention sure helped. Yoshimori inquired about what time it was. When Gen questioned why the other wanted to know, Yoshimori replied by stating that he simply did. Seeing no harm in it, an unsuspecting Gen rummaged through his pocket and pulled his phone out.

THAT'S when it happened.

"What the?" Gen started when his wrist was suddenly trapped in a blue kekkai. Soon multiple other kekkais materialized around every available ligament on his arms and legs. "The hell is this?" he barked angrily.

"Insurgence!" explained Yoshimori, actually meaning 'insurance', as he snatched the cell phone away. "I told my dad that you'll be coming by today for dinner. This here" Yoshimori paused to wave around the electronic device he held hostage, "-is to make sure that you do. Smart plan huh?" he asked while scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously.

When Gen responded by baring his teeth in a snarl, Yoshimori took it as his cue to go. "See ya around then" he said hastily fleeing the scene.

**~0~0~0~**

Gen Shishio found himself in an uncomfortable situation. One he would have no doubt avoided under different circumstances. The worst part being that technically he _could_ make an escape as there was nothing physically bounding him to his spot. He didn't really have to go through with the experience. Gen could easily walk away from this without having to look back… yet he couldn't.

Why couldn't he?

The ayakashi-hybrid lifted his head from the table to observe the person sitting across from him. He identified him as Toshimori, the youngest in the Sumimura clan. Gen had never met the kid before, and even though this was a good opportunity as any to get to know him, Gen knew that this wasn't the reason he hadn't left yet.

Once his observations were finished, the night-trooper shifted his eyes to focus on the person sitting beside Toshimori. The subsequent narrowing of beast-like eyes was something that couldn't be helped as the targeted person was no other than Yoshimori, a.k.a. the only person who knew his secret.

'_He's the reason I can't leave'_ Gen accused inwardly, his eyes metaphorically burning holes on the legitimate successor's scalp.

Gen was a person who took his job seriously; that being the only thing that kept him sane for the past four years. Therefore it was only natural for him to want to carry out any order given to him as dutifully as he could. The trouble was that he couldn't exactly do that if he was unable to receive such orders.

His mobile phone was the only way for headquarters to communicate with him. A phone that, regrettably, wasn't in his possession anymore. Gen was aware that even if they couldn't reach him directly that there were other members of the Night Troops around, like Hiba-san, that could easily relay to him any important message. But being teased or, more likely, scolded for losing his phone wasn't something Gen was readily willing to put himself through. He _didn't_ want to add 'incompetent' to the already long list of derogatory words he was sure some of the other night-troopers had for him.

And so, even though the ayakashi-hybrid wasn't obligated to sit through with this, it did _nothing_ to make him feel any less trapped. Well, at least until he got the opportunity to seize the electronic device away from Yoshimori. Then he could say goodbye forever to this joint.

Just as Yoshimori took notice of the tanner teen's glare, offering a sheepish grin as he did so, a plate filled with food obstructed Gen's vision as it was set right in front of him. Gen's eyes traveled from the hand gripping the plate to the owner of said hand and found it to be Shuji, the male parent to the Kekkaishis seated at the table.

"Okay Gen, eat as much as you want!" said Shuji as he took a seat next to the guest of the house.

"Ahh, thank you" Gen responded quickly, feeling slightly uneasy at being immediately addressed.

"You don't need to restrain yourself" chirped Shuji as he merrily examined the contents on the table. He had to set an example of being a good host after all. "Here, have a little salad. And try some of this. Oh, and some of that! Ah, try this, it's delicious. Hurry and eat while it's hot Gen; these are some of my best dishes! Ooh and this, _this_ is awesome!"

"Hey dad" Toshimori chimed in, interrupting his father and preventing him from turning into Hostzilla. "Why isn't grandpa here?"

"Oh? He's out right now. He said he'd be back late and that we should eat dinner without him"

"That's kind of weird" contemplated Toshimori as he picked up his chopsticks.

"But we don't have to feel lonely without grandpa because Gen is here tonight!" Shuji expressed jovially as he served everyone their drinks.

Toshimori laughed at this. "Don't you mean that _you_ don't have to feel lonely dad?"

"Hahaha, yes I guess you're right"

As this playful banter went on, Gen could only stare at the large amount of food that basically tripled on his plate. And yet, not for the first time, the only thought that resided in his mind was; _'Why am I in such a situation?'_

Thirty minutes later everyone was basically finished with their meals; some having had more difficulty consuming it than others.

Yoshimori patted his stomach and let out a satisfied sigh before thanking his father for the meal, Toshimori doing the same. Shuji then turned to Gen to see if he was in the mood for desert but before the ayakashi-hybrid could answer they heard the front door of the house opening to announce the arrival of old man Shigemori. Shuji immediately stood up and left the room to greet his father-in-law.

Once Shuji was no longer nearby, Gen turned his narrowed eyes towards Yoshimori. "Return it" he demanded between gritted teeth. Toshimori raised an eyebrow at this but decided it had nothing to do with him so he picked up his plate and went to leave the room.

Yoshimori scratched the back of his head guiltily but still manage to smile. "Ah relax, just let my dad do his thing" said Yoshimori trying to be persuasive as he picked up his plate along with Gen's and an empty carton of coffee-milk. "Dad really likes having you here, can't you tell?"

"As if I care" Gen grumbled. He felt constantly tensed in this environment, his tolerance was at its limit, his agitation levels were quickly rising and he really needed to get away. But he couldn't do that without his cell phone. As he saw that Yoshimori was about to leave the room, Gen panicked and went after him. "No, wait!"

Just when the ayakashi-hybrid was about to stop the shorter teen by grabbing his shoulder, the door to the room suddenly slid open signaling the return of the father. Gen straightened his posture instantly, the overwrought uneasiness flowing in him once again.

"Ah great, there you are" said Shuji, relaxing as if he made it back just in time. "Gen, you should go take a shower! I've heated the water for you" he stated before turning around to go do the dishes.

Yoshimori turned toward Gen and agreed with his father. "Yeah, go ahead"

"But" started Gen but was interrupted by the Kekkaishi.

"No need to be shy" he stated; but when the tanner male showed no signs of moving, Yoshimori furrowed his eyebrows in question. "Aren't you going in?"

Gen hesitated, his face already showing how embarrassed he was about the statement he was about to make. "…I hate baths"

"Eh?" Yoshimori grimaced. Then he got an idea but stopped himself just as quickly. At a time like this he would tease Gen about not feeling that way if it was a bath with Atora. But after their heated argument last time the Sumimura brought her up, Yoshimori decided it wouldn't be wise to do so. Instead he went with the alternative. "What? Need me to hold your hand?" he joked.

At those words, Gen stopped his fidgeting and stared openly at the Sumimura, locking their eyes to one another. Those eyes inexplicably felt more intense than what they should and Yoshimori couldn't help breaking his gaze away.

"I-I'll go prepare y-your bath then. Um, yeah" stammered Yoshimori quickly as he hastened his steps toward the sink to deposit the items in hand before rushing to the bathroom. All while trying to steady his frantic mind. _'Damn, why did I suddenly felt so uncomfortable back then? I was the one who made the inappropriate joke so why am I the one running away?'_

This was not good and Yoshimori was well aware that he couldn't let himself continue going down that route. It just wouldn't do, simple as that. _'So what if my plan backfired? Big deal! All I have to do is keep things from getting weird next time. Can't be that hard, right?'_

**~0~0~0~**

As Tokine set foot on Karasumori, she was informed by Hakubi that the other two protectors were already here. She took a deep breath and firmly pressed forward half-expecting to find the boys at each other's throat again. The Yukimura swore that she would not falter in bumping both their heads with a kekkai if that were the case.

When she reached them she pinched the bridge of her nose in disappointment because she found that the boys were indeed going at it. But then her ears perked up when she registered the words that were being exchange.

"Hey Shishio" continued Yoshimori, "Did you forget to use conditioner? Cuz your hair is really pointy"

"Shut up!" answered Gen while turning his face away in embarrassment.

Tokine couldn't help smiling at this. For once she caught no animosity in their voices or in their stances. They were acting like normal comrades, and dare she say it, friends. It seemed like tonight they might advance the progress of their teamwork after all.

**~0~0~0~**

_A girl was walking down a lonely aisle that went on and on forever and ever. Her posture refined, her chin up and her pace unhurried. She was the epitome of grace._

_Behind her, footsteps that echoed loudly in the empty halls struggled to catch up with her. The noise belonged to no other than an overeager boy who just couldn't wait to showcase his talents to the girl that held his affections._

"_Tokine, wait!" shouted the boy making the girl whose name he called discontinue her stride._

"_What is it that you want Yoshimori?" solicited the girl gently, turning her body around toward the boy and illuminating him with her radiance._

_The boy, now identified as Yoshimori, smiled at her and stopped three feet from her. She was so beautiful to him. So refined. So perfect. That's why he put so much time and effort into his gift. So that he might deserve her._

"_I have something for you" said Yoshimori as he presented to her a cake on a silver platter. It was a pastry like no other because it could not be bought in stores nor duplicated by whoever held the title for the world's best confectioner. It was his heart and he was giving it to only one person._

_Tokine covered her mouth in a surprise manner once she recognized what was being handed to her. Then an unsuccessfully suppressed giggle escaped her lips, and much to Yoshimori's horror, full-blown laughter ensued._

"_Tokine, what's going on?" Yoshimori dared ask, his voice shaky. He couldn't phantom why any of this would be funny. It was then that he felt the atmosphere change. Suddenly the room lost its brightness and everything went quiet._

_Yoshimori's eyes darted everywhere in confusion but he could not see a thing except for the girl in front of him. A girl that now stood still, leering at him with scrutiny before a smirk formed on her face._

"_Yo-shi-mo-ri" she cooed condescendingly. Tokine tilted her head slightly upwards to the left and held the back of her right hand close to the side of her face as if terribly amused by the sight of him. "Tell me, where's the danger in making cakes? Did you really think a girl like me would go for something like that?"_

"_D-Danger? What do you mean? It can't be that-"_

"_And what's wrong with a dangerous man?" cut in Tokine as she began laughing again, this time mockingly. Her laughter echoed through the large expanse of darkness, even making the ground shake, until it was all Yoshimori could concentrate on._

_His knees buckled under their own weight and he fell on them. The platter holding the cake fell out of his hands and clattered on the floor, disappearing into the darkness as did everything else around him._

_He was alone now. Yoshimori gripped the sides of his head and he felt his eyes fogging up. He was alone now but he could still hear the echoes of Tokine's laughter filling his ears and shaking his resolve. Yoshimori shut his eyes tightly and tried in vain to block everything out but it just seemed to make it worst._

_What was this? Why was it happening to him? He didn't know, he couldn't think; but it was swallowing him up just the same. Just as Yoshimori was feeling like his world was about to crumble, a hand suddenly clutched his shoulder and the trembling seemed to stop._

"_I'll eat it" said a gruff voice from beside him. Yoshimori opened his eyes and noticed that he could see the floor again. Not only that but the echoes had seized to exist. _

_Looking up to the direction the new voice came from, Yoshimori's eyes widen as he recognized the person. "Gen?" he whispered under his breath but then his mind registered what the other teen had said. "What do you mean?"_

_The newcomer simply grunted in answer and held a hand out for Yoshimori to take. The later grasped Gen's wrist and the former did the same as he helped Yoshimori get back on his feet. They never released their grasp on each other's wrists once the deed was done though. Afterwards Gen used his free hand to rub the side of his neck in an unsure manner before locking eyes with Yoshimori._

"_I said, that I would eat it, or any other cake… as long as you're the one who made it"_

_Those words ignited an unexplained joy inside Yoshimori, and all of the sudden they were leaning toward each other. Closer and closer until…_

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

"GAH!" yelped Yoshimori as he lifted his head from his wooden desk. He's eyes frantically darted to every corner only to realize that he was back at his classroom; with _everybody_ staring at him like if he had grown another head.

'_It was just a dream_' he rationalized while placing a hand on his chest, trying to calm the frenzied beats of his accelerated heart.

A clearing of a throat was heard and Yoshimori looked up to see the looming figure of his teacher staring down at him. "Is there anything you would like to share with the class?" the teacher questioned.

"Ehh, nope, n-nothing really comes to mind sir" Yoshimori responded, trying his best to look ashamed as he did so. He received some weird glances from some of the students, but those who knew him a little better simply rolled their eyes and categorized it as common Yoshimori behavior. The Sumimura heir waited until his teacher went back to the front of the room before dropping his face and resting his forehead against the desk. Yoshimori bit his lower lip to keep a stressed groan from escaping. He literally felt like he was slowly losing his mind.

**~0~0~0~**

That night when Yoshimori arrived (late) at Karasumori, he spotted Gen standing alone and immediately changed his route to the opposite direction.

Madarao, who had been keeping track of Yoshimori's erratic behavior for quite a while now, found himself at a loss. Lately his master either stuck to his teammates like glue or ran away from them whenever they were on site. This happened on a night to night basis. And as amusing as Madarao found it all to be, he was unable to figure out the reason behind Yoshimori's sporadic actions.

The dog sighed deciding that he might as well get to the bottom of this. Who knows, he might even get some new teasing material out of it. Madarao grinned at the prospect of that and swiftly drifted over to Yoshimori's side.

"So" started the demon dog with a certain glint appearing in his eyes, "Is there something going on between you and Gen-kun that you might want to tell me about?"

Yoshimori stumbled on his footing because of the random question causing him to trip and fall gracelessly. If possible, Madarao's grin widen even further. '_So he _is_ keeping secrets_' he dog concluded.

"Wha- When- How- What makes you say that?" spurted Yoshimori sitting up and leaning backward in alarm with both hands on the ground.

'_Ohohoho I hit a nerve!_' celebrated Madarao in his head before hovering in front of an exasperated Yoshimori and looking him straight in the eyes. "Hmm, let's see. Could it be that I distinctly remember you being all up in that boy's business yesterday and now you are avoiding him like the plague for no apparent reason?" the dog stated more than asked.

The legitimate successor scowled at this. Even if the dog was talking seriously Madarao still looked very pleased with himself. And that was not something that sat well with Yoshimori. The dog was obviously up to something so Yoshimori did what anybody else would do in this kind of situation. That was to deny, deny, deny!

"I don't know what you're talking about" he stated firmly.

"You're hiding something!" Madarao sang as he started to float in circles around the teenager's head.

"Alright fine!" exclaimed Yoshimori giving in. "But I'm still not telling" he grumbled.

"Aww come on, why not?" pleaded the dog trying to sound persuasive. "Get it out of your chest; it might help! It's probably not that big of a deal to begin with. Try me"

"You're right, it's no big deal so there's no use discussing it!" the teen argued. "Besides, it nothing but a stupid dream" he finished.

"Ooh, was it suggestive?" question Madarao while wiggling his doggy eyebrows. His jaw then slackened when he saw his master's face redden. "Are you serious? Ohoho now you _have_ to tell me!" he demanded eagerly.

"What? No way!" Yoshimori proclaimed loudly.

Madarao tooted at this. "Come on little Yoshi, you can tell me" the dog said while landing on the ground in front of his master. He rested his head on his paws and his ghostly tail wagged from left to right slowly. Instead of looking cute like most dogs would, Madarao looked even more eerie. "I can keep a secret" he conveyed.

"…I don't know" replied Yoshimori, never being one who could be easily swayed. But then again Madarao didn't have 500 years of practice for nothing.

"Aww that just won't do" said Madarao, a smirk spreading on his mouth. "If you can't trust your own dog, man's proven best friend, then who can you trust?" the demon dog bargained.

The Kekkaishi seemed to have an internal battle with himself on whether or not reveal the contents of his dream but ultimately sighed in defeat and shared it. Yoshimori thought that the dog would laugh at him but in the end Madarao just looked rather… bored.

"What, no jokes?" Yoshimori asked kinda irritated with the lack of response he received after he had to struggle to recount a _very_ hard tale to tell.

"Sorry Yoshimori" the white dog yawned. "It's just that with the way you were stammering earlier I'd expected it to be a tad more, well, explicit. This kinda paled with what I had in mind to be honest, that's all"

"Well excuse me for not meeting your expectations" Yoshimori grumbled while crossing his arms over his chest. He then scowled at the dog. "Well? Are you going to help me or not?"

Madarao sighed as he gradually levitated from the ground. '_So much for gossip'_ he lamented inwardly before addressing the Kekkaishi.

"Well Yoshi, dreams are just that, dreams. Sometimes they are reflections of real life; like for example, with Toki dismissing you. I've seen that happening so many times that I lost count" he said, chuckling a bit when he heard Yoshimori groan. "On the other hand, sometimes they just don't make sense. Like the part when Gen leaned forward for example. I mean from what I've seen it's mostly you who clings to him so I don't know what that could be about. Unless… is there something you're not telling me?"

Yoshimori purposely avoided eye contact then. "Heheh, about that…" Yoshimori muttered as he tugged the collar of his robe in a nervous fashion. "I should probably mention what happened the last time I went to Shishio's apartment, heh…"

At the dog's disbelieving stare, Yoshimori couldn't help but to laugh a little. It didn't help any to calm his nerves but it was nice to know that he could baffle the demon dog into silence every once in a while. Yet talking about something that happened in a dream wasn't nearly as difficult as talking about something that happened in real life and Yoshimori had no idea where to start. '_I wonder if I could get away with threatening to re-kill him if he ever repeats this to someone else'_

This would definitely take some time.

Meanwhile Gen Shishio was busy patrolling the area as he was waiting for either Kekkaishi to come and get him for teamwork training. Is not that he was eager for it, but he found it kind of strange that neither Kekkaishi had approached him yet. _'Maybe we aren't doing it tonight_' he thought but then he noticed Hakubi hovering on his own.

Gen found that to be a weird sight and leisurely made his way toward the black demon dog. The night-trooper accidentally stepped on a twig and the sound of it breaking alerted Hakubi of someone approaching. The dog looked up and smiled when he saw who it was. "Ah, GenGen! How's it going?" he greeted.

The night-trooper gave a slight nod as if to say he was fine before asking "Where's the girl?"

Hakubi happy expression plummeted at the zero chance for small talk the ayakashi-hybrid provided but then heaved a sigh and answered anyways. "It's that time of the year again" he said while pointing with his ghostly tail the direction in which the girl could be found. "Honey is probably paying her respects as we speak"

Following the direction of the tail with his eyes, Gen saw nothing but trees near the pool area. He turned his face toward Hakubi again but saw that the dog was already floating away. Gen wanted to call after it and ask what the dog meant by 'paying her respects' but hesitated too much that he missed his chance. So after some prolonged indecision, he started to quietly make his way toward the trees.

What he found there was Tokine shuffling around to pile up a bunch of rocks over a plain looking area. Gen had no idea what the purpose of it was and thought that it probably was none of his business. Figuring that it was best to let her be the ayakashi-hybrid turned around to leave, cursing in his head when he once again stepped on something he wasn't supposed to. The sound of dry leaves being crushed alerted the girl of his presence.

He was about to jump away anyways but the Yukimura called out to him before he could. Damning his luck, Gen marched toward Tokine as indifferently as he could.

"Would you mind bringing that big rock over here, it's kinda heavy for me to lift" said the female Kekkaishi as she began pushing away with her sandals the smaller pebbles she had no use for.

Gen didn't get the reason for such a request but obliged anyway and shoved the huge rock to where she wanted it to be. It was only after he watched how Tokine placed the smaller rocks around the bigger one that it hit Gen that the girl was building a small shrine by using the big rock as its centerpiece. Lastly she placed a thin mantle on top of the bigger rock and upon it a candle inside a class cup.

The ayakashi-hybrid wanted to ask what this was about but wasn't sure if he should. Tokine had her back to Gen, but as if noticing his inner struggle she began answering his unspoken question.

"Today marks nine years since my father passed away" she began. Her tone was devoid of all emotion so it was hard to tell what she was feeling. Needless to say that she had Gen's undivided attention. "I was only seven back then, and although I still don't know the details, I know that he died here protecting Karasumori so that I wouldn't have too"

She then lit the candle with a matchstick and watched silently as it emitted a gentle glow. Gen lowered his head and couldn't help feeling like he was intruding. Then he felt a hand atop of his head and looked up to see Tokine standing in front of him. He hadn't realized that he zoned out.

Tokine offered a small smile as she ruffled his hair. "Thanks for helping me build the shrine" she said as she began to walk away. "I knew you could do other things besides destroying"

Gen stood rooted on his spot, too stunned to move as the Kekkaishi parted ways with him. After a while he was able to move his right hand to run it through his hair. He couldn't help the big sister vibe he got from Tokine and he felt kinda embarrassed for it. He also came to realize that the Yukimura had far better control of her emotions than he did with his own.

And all this came to be without him having to utter a single word. Things were definitely different here for him when compared to the Shadow Organization where no one would speak to him unless it was to relay an order or to criticize him. Gen wasn't quite sure how to describe the strange emotion he was feeling but he knew it wasn't entirely unwelcomed.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Gen bowed his head slightly toward the makeshift shrine to pay his respects as well before moving out of the trees to continue his duties.

It was then that he heard a loud yell, one he easily distinguished as belonging to Yoshimori.

Before his brain could even register it, Gen's body had already broken into a mad dash toward the direction the sound came from. When he got there he saw this huge ameba-like ayakashi trying to drown Yoshimori, who was trapped inside his own kekkai, with its body. The night-trooper wasted no time in slashing through its jelly-like substance before grabbing the other boy and jumping out of the way.

"Thanks for the help" said Yoshimori when they landed a good distance away. "But I think you made it worst"

"Huh?" muttered Gen as he observed the enemy. Every part of the ameba substance he had slashed off the main body acquired life of its own and started to move independently. "Shit, this one's a splitter"

"Yep" confirmed Yoshimori as he got in his battle stance. "Not only that but for every part of it that I metsu-ed, the remaining parts multiplied by three more"

"Can't you just eliminate them all at the same time?" questioned Gen also getting ready to charge ahead.

"It's surprisingly fast, moves around a lot and I can't get a hold on all of them at the same time" the Kekkaishi stated, not necessarily happy to admit that he didn't have the best accuracy in the world. "I fought a similar ayakashi in the past and I thought that if I waited for them to merge again I could metsu it. But I wasn't counting on them trying to regroup with me at its center though"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" demanded Gen getting irritated and aborting his battle stance. "If what you said is true then I can't even attack it to defend myself!"

"I don't know; I'm still trying to figure that one out in case you haven't noticed!" countered Yoshimori getting equally pissed.

Next thing they knew they were nursing twin bumps on the heads, courtesy of a green kekkai. They glared at the culprit but at this point she was already immune to their animosity so it left her unbothered.

"Really boys, haven't we learned anything these past couple of days?" lectured Tokine with a shake of the head. She then posed what she hoped was a rhetorical question. "Tell me now; what's the key to victory?"

Both boys exchanged glances and then lowered their gazes feeling like reprimanded children. Although they didn't voice it, they both knew how to respond.

The answer was Teamwork.

**~0~0~0~**

10 minutes later, Gen was standing alone in a generally opened area. As his abilities didn't allow him to dispose of the enemy, he had to act as live bait. '_But that's fine_' thought Gen. '_I'll prove to them that I can do this_'

Just as he expected, it didn't take much time for the enemy to deem him easy prey and surround him from all sides. '_As if I'll go down that easy_' Gen resented as he pretended not to notice. Then suddenly one of the blobs shot at him from behind but the night-trooper was able to evade it. And just like that every single one of the remaining blobs started shooting for him in rapid succession.

Thanks to his speed and agility, Gen performed a series of slides and dodges that kept him from harm's way. All while keeping his fists closed to prevent himself from slashing at the enemy out of reflex. His goal was to keep at it until every part of the ameba-ayakashi entered his general area. That's what his comrades were expecting of him.

To lure the enemy out, to keep himself from receiving damage in a fiend infested assault and to make a swift retreat when the situation called for it was something that _only _Gen could do. He was the core of this operation, the one everyone was counting on, and he refused to let them down. Yet it was more complicated than that because for this plan to work effectively their trust had to go both ways.

When it came down to it, this was Gen's ultimate test. This was what would reveal the results of all their training. For Gen to move as sure as he did and to not falter in his decision to engage the enemy; that could only be accomplished by allowing himself to depend on his teammates. He had to have faith that, although unseen, his _friends_ were watching his back and would be there if he needed them to be.

Just as Gen thought of this a blob shot at him from underground in a surprised attack. The night-trooper was able to do a back-flip to avoid it but two other blobs were already launching themselves to where their target was expected to land. Although Gen saw them coming he knew he couldn't evade unless he slash at them. But before he could make a rash decision, two green kekkais trapped the blobs in a very restricted confinement.

To calculate with precision the movements of an ayakashi, to be able to cast a kekkai with incredible speed and accuracy, and to make it big enough capture the target but small enough so that it doesn't hinder her teammates movements was something that _only _Tokine could pull off.

Now that all remaining ayakashi had entered her field of vision she wasted no time in ketsu-ing them and placing them in an individual kekkai for each of them. She allowed no piece of the enemy to get away and in less than fifteen seconds she had all of them trapped. Tokine struggled to keep her kekkais stable for what was to come next.

Gen saw his cue for what it was and immediately dashed to get away from the general area. Once out he shouted for the last piece of the puzzle to "Go for it!"

"Already there" smirked Yoshimori as he readied his incantation. "Houi! Jouso! Ketsu!" he chanted as one enormous blue kekkai appeared around all the smaller ones. Yoshimori may not have had the needed agility to throw himself at the enemy nor the accuracy to trap his moving target, but _only_ he had the kind of power to eliminate them all at once. "Metsu!"

And just like that all that remained of the ayakashi was dust particles which were quickly taken care of by the Kekkaishis' Tenketsu.

"We did it!" Yoshimori cheered, wrapping one arm around Tokine's neck and doing the same with thing with Gen as he tried to coax them into a collective "Whoop!"

Not a second later an excited Madarao came bearing what he thought to be good news. "Yoshi I got it! I got the solution to the dilemma we were discussing earlier! Listen all you had to-"

Madarao never got to finish that line as Yoshimori quickly jolted from his spot to muffle the dog's mouth with his hands. "Shhh, you promised to never mention it again in front of anyone!" The Kekkaishi cried out before robotically turning his head to his teammates whom were staring at him with a puzzled expression. "Heh heh, um, give me a minute" he relayed before dashing away with Madarao in a chokehold.

Once they hid behind a school building, Yoshimori released the dog from his hold. Said demon dog wasted no time in voicing his complaints.

"Well that was rude" said Madarao with his eyes closed and his nose raised high. "And here I was thinking that you be a little more grateful that I came up with a foolproof plan to help you with your problem"

"You mean you know how to stop those weird dreams?" Yoshimori asked hopeful.

"Not that!" Madarao scoffed as if the teen had said something completely ridiculous. "I'm talking about how to make your dreams more explicit of course!"

"Wha?" stared Yoshimori, choking on his own reply.

"I mean it was so obvious!" stated Madarao, opening his eyes and facing his master with a grin. "The only reason that your dreams weren't on par with my expectations was because you know basically _nothing _about sex! I can't believe that something so practical escaped me earlier when the answer was staring me right in the face" Madarao briefly lamented before sparkles suddenly appeared in his eyes. "But no matter, I can fix that in an instant!"

Yoshimori could only gape in shock at what he was hearing coming out of his dog's mouth. Madarao, of course, took it as his cue to continue.

"Don't worry Yoshi, I'll tell you all about the basics and let your imagination take care of the rest. Ooh I'm starting to feel jealous already! The both of you have such big hands as well so I don't think you'll be disappointed in anything you chose to do and-"

Before Madarao could continue he was cut off by a very loud bellowing.

"Lalalalala I can't hear you!" Yoshimori shouted with his hands pressed tightly against his ears, a red blush covering most of his face. "I don't know what you're saying but it's probably illegal to say that to a minor!"

"Oh please, there aren't any laws against pets" Madarao replied with a roll of his eyes. "And even if there were they are mostly against the owner of the animal and considering that you're my master it kinda beats the purpose, wouldn't you agree?"

The Kekkaishi could only shake his head at this. "Bad dog, bad dog!" he countered as he started to flee. "No deer meat for you for a week!"

Madarao gawked at that. "Oh come on, take that back!" he pleaded as he started chasing after his master. "I was only trying to help youuu!" he tried to justify but to little effect. They spent practically the rest of the night like that much to the others' confusion as they had no idea of what the residents of the Sumimura household were on about.

In the end Hakubi suggested that they should just call it a night considering it was only thirty minutes until sunrise. Tokine agreed because she didn't have time to be clowning around. Besides, no ayakashi ever came when it was this close to daylight. Gen however stalled a little longer just so he could spare Yoshimori one final glance. There was no real reason behind the tanner male's actions except that it just felt right to do so.

_**-What? Need me to hold your hand?-**_

Gen tore his gaze away and looked at his human hands. Why was he still thinking about that when it was obvious that the Sumimura had only meant it as a joke? Pushing his question away for another occasion, Gen jumped on top of a building and from there made his way home. Not knowing that the answer was about to hit him sooner than he expected.

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N**: Finally got to Toshimori's introduction in the story, as well as Tokine's friend/classmate. At first it was kind of a pain to decide between using her anime self (Kirara) or her manga self (Madoka). But then I realized that most of you reading this story did it because you watched the anime so I decided to stick with Kirara instead. I don't want to give away what I got planned for the next chapter but let's just say that Madarao isn't the only one noticing the shift in the relationship between Gen and Yoshimori. Plus there's a special scene involving our two main protagonists to consider ^^

But I think I said enough. Later!


	6. Sense of Normalcy

**A/N:** I apologize for the wait. I know it's been long but like always I won't bore you with my reasons. Still, I felt guilty for how long it took me to sit down to write this. So to make up for it up to you, the readers, I took the ideas I had for two different chapters and made it into one big one. Hopefully that makes up for the wait.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence _

_Fear is such a weak emotion that's why I despise it _

_We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth _

_So scared of what you think of me, I'm scared of even telling you _

_Sometimes I'm like the only person I feel safe to tell it to _

_I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that there's a jail in you _

_Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath, inhale a few _

_My screams is finally getting free, my thoughts is finally yelling through_

'_**Words I Never Said' by Lupe Fiasco**_

* * *

**Chapter 6: Sense of Normalcy**

Gen Shishio leapt from roof to roof in a hurried pace as he rushed out to get to the Sumimura household. Just moments ago a birdlike shikigami had landed on his balcony urging Gen to come quick before –it's too late– according to the message relayed by said shikigami.

Understandably alarmed, Gen rushed out of his apartment without even pausing to put on his standard uniform. The situation called for haste so he didn't have time to waste on that. Currently as he was, he wore a plain red t-shirt, black jersey pants and white sneakers.

'_It'll have to do_' he settled before dropping to the street once he got close enough. '_There it is!_'

The night-trooper jumped over the gate of the Sumimura residence and ran to the front door. He hesitated for three seconds trying to figure out if he should knock or not before deciding '_To hell with it_' and sliding the door open. This was an urgent matter.

"What's the emergency?" he shouted as he barged in. Gen's advance however quickly came to a skidding stop when the first person he saw was the Yukimura girl raising an eyebrow at his abrupt entrance.

"Gen?" Tokine questioned. She had just arrived a minute ago and was politely told to wait at the front by Toshimori without being given a reason or explanation. And now that her teammate had come yelling about an emergency, Tokine couldn't help but to ask. "What's going on here?"

Yet immediately after voicing said question, sudden comprehension befell her. '_A setup_' she thought while pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head in exasperation. She wished against hope that this wasn't what she thought it was. "Please don't let it involve cakes" she muttered.

Yoshimori, upon hearing Tokine's comment as he was about to slide the wall open to greet his guests, did a u-turn to the kitchen to drop off the bowl of cake-mix he was stirring before running back to the front entrance.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" he greeted overeagerly as he stepped into the room. Then when he notice their fixed stares on his attire Yoshimori realized that he was still wearing the apron with his bandana on. "Whoops" he muttered while quickly discarding those incriminating items and tossing them to Toshimori who let out a complaining "hey" as he also entered the room. Smiling sheepishly in apology, Yoshimori turned to his guests who were sending him different degrees of glares at him. "I'm, um, glad you could make it?" he tested, gulping.

"What is this about Yoshimori" asked the girl with a no-nonsense quality carrying over her tone.

The Sumimura brothers exchanged glances with each other but ultimately it was the eldest one who had to speak.

"Well" started off Yoshimori while scratching the back of his scalp. "Gramps is gone on a hiking trip for old folks and Dad is meeting with his boss about the book he's been trying to publish. And since today is Saturday I kinda figured we could, ya know, hang out?" he pitched hopefully. "Maybe go to the carnival?"

"Wait, wait a minute" commanded Gen with his eyes firmly shut and his fists tightly clenched at either side of him. He was trying to keep the irritation out of his voice which proved to be a wasted effort as his tense stance alone pretty much gave his mood away. "Are you trying to tell us that there was never an emergency? That you _tricked me_?"

The accusing undertones of that last question didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room; all who turned to face Yoshimori to see how he was going to get out of that one.

"Yeah, about that" said Yoshimori having the decency to look guilty for it even though he wasn't exactly sorry for it. "I didn't think you would come otherwise".

Gen suppressed the low growl that wanted to escape his throat before taking a deep breath to calm himself. Once he felt relaxed enough he opened his eyes, gave a brief acknowledging glance at everyone in the room, and then swiftly turned around and headed for the exit… only to be stopped by someone grabbing his right arm just above his elbow. The ayakashi-hybrid didn't need to turn around to figure out just who was responsible for keeping him there.

"One" Gen spoke between gritted teeth. "Give me one good reason not to punch your face in" he said, not at all bothering to hide the progressively rising aggravation from his voice like he had last time.

"Ain't it obvous?" replied Yoshimori not taking the threat to heart and instead sounding incredulous. "For the first time in a long time none of the old folks are around on the weekend to tell me what to do or where I should go! I, for one, am not wasting this opportunity and I want you to come with"

"But that has _nothing_ to do with me" Gen argued while pulling away from the hand restraining him. The night-trooper didn't make it two steps forward before Yoshimori's uncannily serious voice pierced his ears and stopped Gen on his tracks.

"And who says it doesn't?" countered the Sumimura heir. "We are friends aren't we?" he stated more than asked. "Friends go out to places together, but all we ever do is work. That's not right. In fact I don't think it's even healthy! So today we are all going to have fun together, eat together and, and everything else together and that's final, alright?"

Through all that Gen kept his eyes glued to the front door although his focus was on something else. He couldn't help thinking back upon the day after he had broken 'the ban' and almost fully transformed. The Kekkaishi had visited Gen's home for the first time, and although the tanner male hadn't invited Yoshimori in that time, some personal baggage were revealed during their short conversation. Like the fact that the Sumimura felt cursed because it was rare when he got to do stuff outside of his duty.

Gen slowly walked the remaining steps toward the exit, but instead of taking that extra step to go outside he stopped by the doorframe and rested one hand on it. The beastlike teen wasn't exactly someone of much faith so he never really believed that he would be able to escape his own curse. But that didn't mean that he would go sabotaging whatever hope others had for their own fates. And if a little outing was all it took to make Yoshimori feel less cursed, then who was Gen to deny him that?

Turning his head slightly to look at the first person to ever consider him a friend, Gen tipped his head toward the outside. "What's the holdup then?" he asked gruffly with no small amount of practiced indifference. The night-trooper practically had to shield his eyes because of the way Yoshimori beamed at him. Strange feelings that couldn't be defined were awakening within Gen once again, alarming him to a level that he had to step out for fresh air.

Yoshimori's grin was infectious as he turned to Tokine for her answer as well. "And what about you? What do you say?" he asked before remembering something and adding it as persuasive ammo. "Toshimori is coming along with us by the way; not exactly supposed to leave him alone, heh heh"

Tokine in turn lowered her eyes to the boy standing beside her only to be assaulted by Toshimori's puppy eyes/pout combination. '_This kid is good_' she though as she smiled even while sighing in defeat. "Guess I don't have a choice now, do I?"

**~0~0~0~**

Turns out the carnival was closed for the weekend and that failed trip somehow turned into an excursion through all the different pastry shops in town; Yoshimori's idea of course.

Gen didn't know what part of any of this was supposed to be fun but the legitimate successor of the Sumimura Clan seemed to be enjoying it plenty enough for the rest of them so Gen didn't bother to question it. And although he vehemently refused every time someone tried to make him taste a sample, the ayakashi-hybrid kept tagging along regardless.

It _was _kinda embarrassing that the three teens had to be led around by Toshimori, a nine year old, but after having to admit that none of them knew precisely where they were after mindlessly walking around, they really had no other option. Toshimori seemed to enjoy the opportunity of one-upping his brother. That's probably why he didn't seemed all that bothered that he had to play pastry-store-tour-guide instead of playing in the spinning cups like he had mentioned he wanted to do on the way to the carnival.

"Hee, I swear they can be real kids sometimes" commented Tokine giggling a little as she moved to stand next to Gen. She was referring to the scene the Sumimura brothers, mainly Yoshimori, were making as they argued over which banana combination tasted better. Strawberry-banana or Mango-banana. Not wanting to be seemed as rude, Gen nodded in agreement but otherwise said nothing as they both continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of them.

They were only tagging along after all.

'_Tag-alongs_' Gen reprocessed in his mind. He knew that appraisal fitted him well but now that he thought about it he wasn't sure if the Yukimura considered herself as such. In fact he still didn't know much about her to be perfectly honest. Gen opened his mouth to ask about it but then changed his mind just as quickly. '_It's none of my business anyways. Besides, I'll probably sound stupid asking about it wouldn't I?_'

Yet for better or for worst, Tokine, who was watching Gen with the corner of her eye, noticed him fidgeting around her for what had to be the thousand time since they met. '_Really, aren't we passed that already?_' she asked herself as she exhaled her disappointment away.

"You can tell me, you know" she voiced without so much as a preamble. Tokine tried not to sigh when Gen automatically tensed at the sound of her voice. It was a step up from flinching at least. Instead Tokine turned her face enough to give the night-trooper her full attention. "You were about to say something to me, right? So tell me"

Gen quickly opened his mouth to deny her claim but the look she was giving him told him that she wouldn't buy anything but the truth. So turning his face away and scowling at the cupcake display for no particular reason except for avoiding eye contact, Gen begrudgingly admitted what both already knew albeit with a lot of hesitation.

"…I, I was just… wandering about something"

Tokine couldn't help smiling at that because it seemed that the beastlike teen indeed had difficulty talking to girls. Fortunately for him the Yukimura was mature enough to not tease him for it. Instead she grabbed a cupcake from the display Gen was glaring at to bring his attention back to her.

"So ask away" she replied good-humoredly once his gaze was back on her. "I don't bite, usually" she joked.

And there it was again. Just like that Gen was reminded of how it felt to have an older sister. He was surprised when he had to squash the small part of him that was a little disappointed that she hadn't ruffled his hair like last time. Gen had no clue where that emotion came from yet didn't dwell on it, afraid of finding an answer.

Despite that, Gen did find the courage to ask the questions on his mind, even if he fumbled with them at first. And Tokine in turn answered them with relative ease. Gen found out that the Yukimura could somewhat tell her way around town and could've easily ditched them if she really wanted to. Apparently Tokine had more liberties than Yoshimori did in the sense that her grandma allowed her to participate on school trips and such while said grandmother covered for her at Karasumori.

Technically it meant that Tokine had traveled more than her counterpart Kekkaishi and subsequently her world was more expanded than Yoshimori's. And although he didn't ask for it specifically, he also found out that the Yukimura was _very_ proud of her duty as the legitimate heir and therefore didn't feel cursed for the burden of having to protect Karasumori. It was a stark contrast to how the Sumimura heir felt about the ordeal; and it left Gen a tad confused on the matter.

But then again the Yukimura didn't have siblings that got to do whatever they wanted while her path was already chosen for her. Realistically speaking, she could only compare herself to someone like Yoshimori who apparently got the short end of the deal.

It was kind of hard to decide who of the two Kekkaishi was the sadder story. The girl who resigned herself to her destiny and never wondered if there was more to life, or the boy who wanted to make his own path but could do nothing more than to ponder on the things he'd been missing out on.

In a weird kind of way their situation was kinda similar to Gen's, who had to live the rest of his life knowing he was a monster. Yet unlike the Kekkaishi, Gen didn't have the luxury of having a family to support him every step of the way or to be proud of him. Heck, at least the Kekkaishis shared the burden with each other. Gen only had himself to depend on….

'_Wait, that's not entirely true, is it?_'

Now that the ayakashi-hybrid thought about it, these last couple of days had been kind of an exception to that rule. For the first time in his life Gen had worked as a unit in a team that counted on him just as much as he counted on them. He was with people that have already proven that they wouldn't abandon him to his fate when things got rough, and people who celebrated his victories. It was almost like, he meant something to them.

'_But that will all probably change once I finish my mission. Then I'll be back at the Shadow Organization and I'll be nothing more than a passing memory to them… Great, as if I didn't have enough problems to worry about now I'm getting myself distraught about things that aren't in my control_' he snarled inwardly at himself.

Yet before his anger could progress any further, Gen suddenly found himself being dragged by Yoshimori for an impromptu group photo in front of what the Sumimura heir labeled as an overly awesome seven tier cake. The picture was taken before the night-trooper knew it, which was probably a good thing because he would have refused otherwise.

Afterwards Tokine had enough of sweats and suggested that they at least stop by the nearest food court for a proper meal. Once at the tables the Yukimura was the first to take a seat, with Gen sitting across from her at the other side of the table. Toshimori sat next to Tokine who was already busy reading the Menu. Therefore she didn't notice the look Yoshimori gave his brother. Toshimori only responded by rolling his eyes before moving under the table to take the seat next to Gen while a perked up Yoshimori sat next to Tokine and immediately engaged her in conversation.

Gen for the most part tuned them out in favor of staring blankly at the open Menu, his eyes completely unfocused though. His mind had reeled him back to his previous musings about leaving after completing his mission. Gen wondered why that thought suddenly troubled him so much when before it was the one thing he most looked forward too.

His face was slowly scrunching up in aggravation at his inability to find the answers for himself. That is until the prickling sensation of being watched diverted his focus.

Alarmed, and maybe a little paranoid, the ayakashi-hybrid, careful to not be obvious, let his eyes travel toward everything around him as he tried to identify any suspicious characters lurking by. Gen barely stooped himself from jerking away when he found the culprit to be closer than he imagined, as in sitting right beside him.

Toshimori had his stare fixated on Gen and it was making the teen feel slightly uncomfortable. The kid's gaze displayed no emotion and it had an analytical quality to it. Gen belatedly realized that he was being studied; such revelation made the teen swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. Before he could say something to dissuade the other's focus on him, Toshimori beat him to the punch.

"You're in the Shadow Organization, right?"

"Y-Yeah" replied Gen cringing a little at the slight break in his voice; it was something that infuriated him. '_Seriously, why am I getting so nervous around a kid?_'

When Toshimori looked like he wanted to ask more questions, Gen closed his Menu and laid it flat on the table to show that he was fine with it. He didn't meet the other's gaze though.

Having hold of the tanned teen's attention, or at least that's what Toshimori interpreted he had, the nine year old went ahead and asked about what he really wanted to know.

"So you work with my oldest brother?" questioned Toshimori not being able to completely mask the excitement in his question. "He's name is Masamori by the way" he explained just in case the Shadow Organization member didn't know who he was talking about.

"More like work for him" stated Gen while placing his right elbow on the table and lifting his hand to rest that side of his face on it. The ayakashi-hybrid only did so to try to look more confident in his speech. "Your brother in actually the captain of the Night Troops, the squadron I belong to"

"Wow" the nine year old muttered under his breath. He already knew that his brother was cool but being the boss of something just made Masamori more kickass in Toshimori's eyes. Though not wanting to sound like a child, Toshimori kept his admiration to himself and instead assumed a similar pose to Gen's but with his left hand. Pulling off a certain degree of aloofness was something that simply came second nature to the kid.

Closing his eyes and raising his chin a tad bit in an effort to look taller and hence appear mature, Toshimori commented his thoughts on Gen's situation. "Hmm, compare to that it must seem mean to be stuck here with Yoshimori"

The night-trooper gave a quick glance at Yoshimori, who was still busy trying to impress Tokine with his culinary knowledge, before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't mind it" he responded but Toshimori didn't seem to be listening, too focused in sounding like an adult.

"I mean, why would you want to be here alone with strangers when all your friends and people you know are in some other place, right?"

"Y-Yeah… right"

The hesitation in the teen's answer didn't go unnoticed by the now puzzled Toshimori. The nine year old couldn't help opening his eyes to study Gen some more. The ayalashi-hybrid had a faraway expression on as if remembering something; but from what Toshimori could perceive, it wasn't exactly a fond memory. This confused the kid because he expected anything pertaining Masamori to be the greatest experience of anyone's life.

Consequently Toshimori became slightly disappointed when Gen seemed to be brooding. Yoshimori also seemed to be moping a lot lately and Toshimori began to wonder if angst was a teenager thing. If so then Toshimori already dreaded the day he entered his teenage years as well. Yet thinking more carefully about it the night-trooper didn't look so down a moment ago, which brought the next question:

"Are you happy here?"

Being so young, Toshimori didn't really have a filter to stop him from being so blunt with in inquiries. But when Gen abruptly turned his sharp gaze on him, the nine year old realized the lack of tact in his question. Yet with curiosity winning over his sorry feeling, Toshimori met Gen's eyes head on… sort of.

You see, although Gen was staring directly at Toshimori, the youngster got the feeling that Gen wasn't all there. The beastlike teen, although looking understandably surprise by the question, was more confused by it that anything else. Specifically by its meaning.

'_Happiness, maybe that's the strange emotion I've been feeling lately but couldn't put into words_'. Gen dropped his hand flat on the table and lowered his gaze. Somehow he felt inexplicably relieved after finally being able to find a name for it.

"Happy" repeated the ayakashi-hybrid, trying the word out aloud. As Gen was doing this he became completely unaware that the clatter in his surroundings had suddenly quieted down. If he had paid attention he would have noticed that the other occupants of the table were also giving him their undivided attention upon hearing Toshimori's last question. Maybe then he wouldn't have answered so sincerely. "I guess I am… I mean, these past few days, um… actually, this is the first time I felt like that in a long time"

**~0~0~0~**

It was late in the afternoon when the group called it quits and decided to finally head home, courtesy of Tokine reminding them that they had a place that needed guarding at nightfall.

"Hopefully you won't fall asleep because of all the sweets you stuffed yourself with Yoshimori" said Tokine once they reached their neighborhood. Then she sweetly bid farewell to Toshimori before reminding her teammates that just because tonight was their night off of training didn't mean that they could arrive late at Karasumori.

Gen looked away and grumbled about how he was _always_ early as the Yukimura closed the gates to her residence. Toshimori, feeling more tired than he let on after the long walk home, wasted no time entering through his household's gates as well. He didn't rush though because he didn't want to look too eager to go to bed. Yoshimori however stood in front of his gate without making a move to step in.

Assuming that the Kekkaishi was just waiting on him to do something, Gen mulled over his options. The ayakashi-hybrid opened his mouth to wish the other goodnight but it died on his tongue when he realized that would sound stupid considering they were going to see each other again very soon.

Gen rubbed the back of his neck while feeling frustrated with himself for never being able to come up with the correct things to say in these situations. So figuring that simply walking away would be less awkward than just standing there like a fool, Gen turned on his feet intending to do just that.

That is until he was stopped by the voice of the very Kekkaishi he was about to ditch.

"Shishio" Yoshimori called, almost making the night-trooper stumbled on his feet. Now that Gen thought about it, Yoshimori had been uncharacteristically silent for a while now. So it was no wonder that suddenly hearing him speak made Gen lose his balance since he was unprepared for it. Fortunately the Kekkaishi was still giving his back to Gen, and the night-trooper took comfort in knowing that no one witnessed his embarrassing display.

Composing himself quickly, Gen turned toward the other teen and waited for him to continue. Yoshimori, however, didn't seem sure of how to proceed. Though being aware that the spotlight was now on him, the Kekkaishi knew he had to say something. "Umm" he drawled while tugging the hem of his shirt. "Did you mean what you said back at the restaurant?"

"Huh, about what?" Gen questioned, not sure to what the other was referring to.

'_Great_' Yoshimori thought sarcastically. He wasn't counting on having to explain. He just kinda inferred that the taller teen would automatically know what he was talking about and because of that Yoshimori started to fidget involuntarily. "Well, you know, about the- I mean the happy- being- Gah!"

The Sumimura dug his fingers into his scalp and ruffled his hair furiously as if trying to dispel whatever was making him stumble on his words. At first Gen felt mildly reassured by the fact that apparently he wasn't the only one who had trouble expressing himself from time to time. But then he took a step back when Yoshimori suddenly turned around and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Is it true that you are happy here or not?" the smaller teen shouted. His tone making it feel more like he was commanding an answer than asking for one.

"You, you were listening to that?" Gen asked in horror before closing his fists and taking an angry step forward to make his stance. "And why should you care?"

"D-Don't answer me with another question!" Yoshimori sputtered while flailing his left arm around, the one he wasn't using for pointing. Not knowing what to do with it he also closed it into a fist and kept it in front of him. "And I care because I'm your friend! How many times are you gonna make me repeat that for you to get it!"

At that Gen's pent up anger seemed to evaporate as he disengaged from his fighting stance and stood stoic with his head lowered to the ground. Oh how he hated when the other pulled the friend card because it reminded the ayakashi-hybrid that to this day he still didn't know what it took to be a good friend.

But it wasn't like he wasn't trying his damn best to learn. So what was it that he still didn't get?

"I, ah, it's true" Gen voiced, already feeling guilty for lashing out earlier. "I do, sort of, like it here"

Yoshimori, also discarding his aggressive stance, looked more puzzled than the night Gen had questioned him about judging the night-trooper on the night the Kekkaishi got sick. "Even more than being part of the Shadow Organization?" asked Yoshimori, and when he got no answer he persisted. "But why? Don't you hate being stuck here and not knowing when you'll be able to get out?"

"Well yeah, I mean no I-" the ayakashi-hybrid was once more rubbing the side of his neck in a nervous manner as he pretended to find the near wall more interesting than their conversation. "…I guess it's because you guys are here" he confessed.

At first Gen heard nothing and felt increasingly uneasy as the seconds ticked by without getting some sort of response. Then he could swear that he almost jumped out of his skin when all of the sudden arms encircled around him.

"W-What are you doing?" Gen hissed/stuttered into the mope of black hair that was suddenly under his mouth.

"Giving you a hug, duh! What else does it look like?" Yoshimori retorted before releasing the taller teen's rigid body and moving away from him. "Usually it's customary to return the hug to the hugger though" Yoshimori commented before turning to his house and opening the gate. "See ya later Gen" he said before stepping inside and closing the gate after him.

Meanwhile Gen's whole being stayed rooted right where he stood as his brain tried to catch up with whatever the hell just happened. Surprisingly though, thoughts about his conversation with the Sumimura didn't fill his mind. Neither the fact that he revealed how he truly felt about his mission at Karasumori.

Right now the only thing that was coursing through his mind, and hence the only thing causing him stress, was the way his body reacted when the Kekkaishi hugged him.

You see, Gen wasn't someone you could easily classify as an approachable person. Therefore he wasn't someone who would partake in any show of affection. That is if you didn't count the times he got glumped by either Atora, who tried to suffocate him with her boobs, or her beasts, who tried to bury him under their weight. Needless to say that those times were purely involuntary on Gen's part, and were always followed with Gen trying desperately to get away from it.

But this time he had reacted differently and that alone was enough to shake him.

His breath had been caught in his throat; his sense of smell had unwillingly became more attuned; his vision had darken; his ears had shut off anything that wasn't in his immediate vicinity; his mind had gone temporarily blank; and his body suddenly became more aware of itself and the heat of the body who had trapped him in an awkward hug. Yet all that was nothing next to the way every part of his skin tingled with the urge to touch. Not to mention the part of his body his accelerated heart suddenly started to pump his blood to.

Saying that his body had stiffened didn't even began to cover it. The ayakashi-hybrid was more than a little ashamed to admit that the contact with the smaller teen had aroused him. Said reaction was definitely different from the way his body reacted to other people.

With others he just wanted to pull away. With Yoshimori all Gen could think of was pushing into that pale body.

"Fuck, this is messed up"

A truer statement couldn't be muttered. Gen knew he wasn't supposed to feel that way toward a friend; and any other day he would have berated himself until convincing himself that this was just a phase. That it didn't mean anything. That he should stop looking into it because someone like him didn't deserve to have hope and dreams. But since the entirety of the day he had been nothing but honest with himself, Gen figured it wouldn't hurt to admit to one more thing tonight. And that was that he wanted more from Yoshimori than just a simple friendship.

But how was he ever supposed to get around that?

Even so, regardless of the things that were done, he also regretted the thing that he didn't do. The thing he so desperately wanted to do but wasn't allowed to because of his insecurities. The same thing he now swore to himself to rectify if ever the chance ever presented itself to him again.

'_Next time I'll return- I'll wrap my… promise to, damn it!_' he cursed while kicking a lamppost. He couldn't even finish the thought in his head without getting embarrassed. But maybe it was better that way now that he thought about. Because there was a chance that if Gen ever returned the hug he would have a hard time letting go.

**~0~0~0~**

When Yoshimori entered his house he was surprised to see his little brother sitting on the step with his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. '_Was he waiting on me?_' the Sumimura heir questioned as he took off his sneakers.

"What's up buddy, anything I can help you with?"

"Not much" Toshimori replied nonchalantly, giving a one-shoulder shrug for added effect. "I was just thinking that you and Gen really are friends after all"

"Huh, of course we are" stated Yoshimori, furrowing his eyebrows a little while trying to figure out why his brother would think otherwise. "What made you doubt it?"

"Well, I guess it's because I never heard him call you by your name. Not even your last name. With Tokine he at least refers to her by Yukimura; but with you, nothing." Toshimori paused and rolled his eyes to the upper left corner as he tried to figure out how to word his evaluation. "It's almost like he's trying _too hard_ to not establish a relationship with you. Kinda strange if you ask me"

With the way the teenager in the house was now gaping at him, Toshimori guessed he shouldn't pester his brother with his other evaluations. The deed was done anyways. And so Toshimori excused himself by saying he wanted to take a bath before going to sleep and whishing Yoshimori luck with patrolling Karasumori.

…

That night on Karasumori ground Yoshimori was pretty much useless. He tried his best to look like he hadn't just had a big reveal thrown at his face. His best wasn't that good.

It was like everything his teammates said came in one ear and out the other. All the Sumimura heir really did was stand there with his mouth open as if something shocking had happened like canceling the food channel or something. His teammates eventually gave up on trying to get a reaction out of him and told Madarao to yell if anything happened.

…

Sunday wasn't much better either.

**~0~0~0~**

Next morning started off pretty much like any other. With Yoshimori following after Tokine and with her dishing out her typical command about him keeping his distance. And the day would have continued taking the same monotonous path had Yoshimori not caught sight of movement near him.

The male Kekkaishi crossed his arms and relentlessly tapped his foot on the concrete until Tokine disappeared from his vision. To anyone he would have looked like a pouting teen but in reality he was a man anxious to complete his task.

Sighing when he appeared to be alone, Yoshimori lifted his head to stare at the sky. "I know you're here Gen so why not come down. Gotta talk to you anyways"

After probably the longest ten seconds in Yoshimori's life, he heard the other teen land somewhere behind him and walked until casually standing next to him. The Sumimura glimpsed at the tanner male's profile with the corner of his eye before dropping his head low enough to have his hair cover his eyes. Yoshimori couldn't cover the humorless smirk on his face though, no matter how shallow it was.

Right beside him Gen was standing with his hands in his pockets and was staring straight ahead looking as indifferent as ever. Not even sparing a hello for acknowledgment.

How was it that Yoshimori never noticed that invisible barrier between them until now? Worst, why did he need help from a third party to notice it was there in the first place? Those were questions Yoshimori couldn't answer but that didn't mean he would sit in a corner and take it. He was made for action after all.

'_It's now or never_' he thought as he put on a bright smile and turned to the night-trooper. "So Gen, how's the morning treating you Gen? Think you'll be able to stay awake in class Gen?"

Gen gave the other a cautious glance as he answered with a bit of reservation. "Um, fine, and, yeah?"

"That's great! Yoshimori exclaimed making Gen give an unperceivable wince as he was not expecting such an exuberant reaction. The Kekkaishi didn't falter any though. "That's really good to hear Gen; it means you're ready for school! Of course all that you're missing is the actual books for your classes, right Gen? Gen, am I right Gen?"

"Ehh, I guess?" Gen stated apprehensively as he took a step to the side to lengthen the distance between him and the potentially unstable Sumimura. Unfortunately moving away didn't serve him much as the smaller teen took an equal step toward him. The ayakashi-hybrid repeated the process once more yet ended with the same result. "…is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Yoshimori questioned, ever present smile still plastered on his face like it was taped there; and to be honest, it was starting to weird out the other teen. "Why would you think something was wrong _Gen_? Why would you?"

Okay, now Gen went from feeling apprehensive to downright uneasy. He took his hands out of his pockets and turned his body to fully face Yoshimori for precaution. "Because you keep repeating my name, maybe?" he braved to say.

"Oh, so you noticed! I knew you were a smart guy, Gen my man" replied Yoshimori nodding twice to himself and, if possible, looking even brighter than he did before. The night-trooper honestly didn't know how to feel then, yet Yoshimori hadn't finished speaking. "And do you know why I keep saying your name Gen?" he asked, sounding undeniably expectant.

Suddenly Gen felt the pressure to get it right.

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking everywhere but in front him, Gen tried wholly to come up with a plausible answer. But contemplating everything he knew about the Kekkaishi, Gen could only think of one thing.

"… did you, uh, drink too much coffeemilk?" he dared ask after some hesitation, feeling a tad proud that his voice didn't break any.

"Too much coffeemilk?" the Sumimura echoed lifelessly, none of his previous exuberance accompanying him. Then he began laughing for no reason. "That's funny" he said but it sounded clipped. Eventually he brought the palms of his hands to rub against his eyelids and finally let his smile drop. "This ain't working" he declared in defeat.

Sighing once more Yoshimori let his right hand drop and used the left one to brush back the hair that fell on his face. "Sorry about that" he said, still not able to meet the other's gaze. "Actually, the answer was that I kept repeating your name because that's what friends do, they call each other by their names. You get it?" he asked, looking at Gen straight in the eyes.

Truth be told, it was a little disheartening for Yoshimori when he was met with a blank expression as Gen looked like he was still trying to figure out where the smaller teen was leading him with this. In fact, it pissed Yoshimori right off.

"Dammit!" cursed Yoshimori stomping his foot on the ground. "That's it!" the Kekkaishi stated deciding to screw/forego the psychological approach and resuming to methods he was more accustomed to using. "New rule. You are not allowed to talk to me until you learn to call me by my name!"

"What?" asked Gen taken aback by the other's proclamation. "Where did this-"

"Nah ah, I said no speaking!" cut in Yoshimori before turning away and stumping his way to school. Gen just stared openmouthed as Yoshimori left him behind, still not a 100% sure he understood what this whole experience was about and wondering what exactly had he done to ruin things this time. Yet he didn't get to spend too much time on it as not even thirty seconds later Yoshimori was calling out to him again. "Hey Shishio, are you coming with me or not?"

Gen shook his head in amusement. It was so typical of Yoshimori to be talking to him right after saying he wouldn't do so. "Coming" replied Gen, trying to sound nonchalant about it as he jumped unto the side fence next to the Kekkaishi and matched his pace to school.

Somehow, maybe because they were focusing on arriving before the bell rang, they both failed to notice the faint smile Gen wore the entire way to school.

**~0~0~0~**

Considering the fact that the teenage boys attended different classrooms, things didn't progressed that differently at school; although Yoshimori _did_ try a little harder to give Gen the cold shoulder. For example; the one time they saw each other in the halls Yoshimori passed through without giving any sign of acknowledgement to the other… only to demand three seconds later why Gen did the same.

Then, at the rooftop, the Sumimura had tried the silent treatment or at least a variation of it. You see, Yoshimori firmly stood by his decision of not talking to the other teen. So every time the Kekkaishi found that he had something he wanted to communicate he would engage in a one-sided conversation with Mr. Pillow instead. A _loud_ one-sided conversation at that.

Gen found that to be entertaining at best, if not a little irritating since he still didn't quite understand what Yoshimori's problem was.

It wasn't until after school ended that the night-trooper began to give thought to what the Kekkaishi had said that morning. Laying on his bed while meditating in his apartment, Gen reflected on his relationship thus far with Yoshimori and the many words exchanged between them. Only then did he realized that there was indeed some valid truth to the other's reclamations.

To his merit, Gen honestly hadn't realized that it mattered that much. '_What's the big deal with names anyways?_' Up until now he hadn't really been on first name basis with anyone even though practically everyone in the Night Troops and here called him by his given name. He guessed they did that because they sort of pitied him for being a monster and wanted him to feel included. Hiba though probably did to mock him and remind him that his so-called family was made-belief. Not that Gen could blame his tormenter since the teen had basically taken his left arm away the first time he went berserk.

Yet Yoshimori was different. He more often than not called the ayakashi-hybrid by his last name but did it more for rivalry purposes, and maybe a little fondness, than for formality. Plus Yoshimori proven that he views Gen as an equal, as a friend. There is no pity in his eyes, not even resentment.

'_And I really like being around him_' he thought sullenly before catching himself and grimacing. '_I mean he's surprisingly comforting for someone who angers me easily_' he reworded, not sure if that made it any better.

Whatever, the important thing was that Gen felt normal around the Sumimura. Like he was another socially awkward teen with humane problems that didn't matter in the long run and not some high risk individual with the potential of destroying everything he cared about.

As if having some kind of epiphany, Gen abruptly opened his eyes and sat up. '_Maybe that's the reason_' he thought, referring to the current dilemma with Yoshimori. '_Maybe, subconsciously even, I don't refer to people by their names as another safeguard. That way it wouldn't hurt as much when I eventually ruin things and lose the privilege of addressing them by their names; because I never did it_'

Following that line of thought, was he really going to give up the chance of building a stronger bond with Yoshimori just for the risk of messing things up? Hadn't he already messed up a handful of times and _still_ the Kekkaishi continually sought him out? And more importantly, was he really _that_ afraid to get closer to Yoshimori?

'_Am I?_'

**~0~0~0~**

Late at night and Yoshimori had spent the better part of the last hour seating at the front step of the middle school building. Not many ayakashi had shown up at Karasumori, and every time Madarao began telling the location of an ayakashi he spotted the dog would always cut himself short by stating that one of the other two protectors already took care of it.

Tokine hadn't scheduled any team training either so it's not like he could do much of anything else. He _had_ tried interrogating Madarao on what he knew of Karasumori but the demon dog remained as elusive as ever, instead choosing to tease the Kekkaishi with questions about his love life. Needless to say that the interrogation ended shortly after that and therefore Yoshimori was left with nothing to do.

In short, it was a very slow night.

Yoshimori stretched his arms out to yawn, subsequently closing his eyes in the process. He opened them however when he heard Madarao snickering and voicing in a singsong kind of way that "here comes Romeo"

As if on cue, Gen landed six feet away from the steps Yoshimori was sitting on. "Supid dog" Yoshimori retorted under his breath before looking the other way as if he hadn't seen the other teen walking his way.

The ayakashi-hybrid narrowed his eyes at that. "Are you still trying to ignore me?" he asked with a hint of irritation.

"Hmm, what was that?" questioned Yoshimori looking from side to side as if trying to locate someone who wasn't there. "Did you hear anything Madarao?"

The dog in question raised an eyebrow at the childish display but decided to stay quiet to observe how things played out.

Gen face-palmed and muffled a groan with his hand before letting it drag down. It wasn't like he wasn't expecting something like this after all. '_Well, here goes nothing_' he thought while crossing his arms. "Listen, Yoshimori, I just wan-"

"What's that now? What did you call me?" interrupted the Sumimura, staring at the night-trooper suspiciously.

"You heard me" Gen replied snappily while taking one last step forward yet doubting himself just as quickly. Licking his suddenly dried lips he hesitated briefly before repeating himself in a much calmer way. "… I called you Yoshimori"

"Yeah, that's what I thought I heard" Yoshimori muttered before laying back and gazing at the low flying clouds that could somewhat be seen in the night. Having expecting more, Gen was kinda wary about the little reaction he got. Yet not knowing what else to do he sat down next to the Kekkaishi and slouched forward with his arms resting on his legs.

However just as he finished sitting down his left wrist was suddenly grabbed by Yoshimori who instantly bolted up and attempted to pull the night-trooper up as well.

"Well come on" grinned Yoshimori looking the very definition of cheery. And as if to confuse Gen even more, the Kekkaishi followed it up with the next exclamation. "Let's eat in the sky tonight!"

**~0~0~0~**

Minutes later the teenage boys were sitting on a flat kekkai placed in the middle of the sky above Karasumori with tons of food between them.

"You see, today Dad prepared dinner for you too!" explained Yoshimori as he kept taking things out of his backpack. "See? We have drinks too!"

Gen sweat dropped at that. "You're not saying, that in that backpack… all you brought is dinner?"

"Wha? Talk about rude" Yoshimori grumbled before pulling something else out. "I brought a pillow too for- for- for times of need!" he said in his defense.

"Of need?" echoed Gen sounding even more puzzled. Even Madarao looked embarrassed by his master that the dog pretended to be anywhere else but there. Deciding that he didn't want to know the answer to the previous question, Gen shook it off and instead chose to ask about an issue more pressing in his mind. "Is it fine that- I mean, shouldn't we call that girl also?"

"It's Tokine" Yoshimori corrected while scowling at the 'that girl' comment.

"Right, the Yukimura" Gen responded still focused on spotting the girl that he missed the point the Sumimura was trying to make. When Gen's gaze returned to Yoshimori, silence ensued. "What?" he finally asked.

Yoshimori hung his head low at that. '_Whatever, we'll get there eventually_' he thought while waving it off with his right hand and getting back on track. "It's fine, I have something I want to ask you anyways"

The legitimate successor of the Sumimura Clan grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth while glancing to the side as to downplay the importance of what he had to say.

"That brother of mine is the boss of the Night Troops, right?" he asked while chewing on his food before swallowing. "Would you say that he is a good leader?"

"Why do you ask all of the sudden?" questioned Gen getting serious.

"Well, you see, I'm not sure I can trust him" Yoshimori explained as if it was a small thing, which was something that surprised Gen. "I never really have"

"Huh? But he's your brother?"

"Being related to someone doesn't make them trustworthy" Yoshimori reasoned.

Gen frowned at that. "But…" he started but couldn't finish. '_But what?_'

The night-trooper wanted to argue the point and defend the Chief but then the memories of his own older brothers flashbacked in his head. The oldest brother would frequently beat Gen up like a punching bag for no apparent reason other than being bored; the second oldest brother enjoyed playing mind games and would constantly use it to hurt Gen on an emotional level to make him feel worthless; and the third oldest didn't even see Gen as a person, just a thing that could be used to please the first two. And then there was his sister who had promised to always be there for him but wasn't.

How could Gen possibly argue against Yoshimori without sounding like a hypocrite?

"Don't get me wrong" continued Yoshimori when he heard no further protest. "I know that if the Kokubourou attacks with full strength we are going to need the Night Troops here to back us up. There won't be any time then for doubting anyone. That's why I decided that if you trust Masamori then, I'll trust him too this time" he stated, marginally shocking Gen. "So, how is he?"

Gen's eyes shifted to the side, not having to think much on his answer. "The Chief is extraordinary, there's no one like him"

"There's no one like him alright" Yoshimori dissed before getting back on topic. "So… you never doubted him at all?"

"No" was Gen's sincere replied.

"Hmm…" Yoshimori pretended to mull it over. "Okay, got it" he stated making Gen look at him in surprise.

"You sure change your mind awful quickly" he gruffly commented making the Sumimura blink.

"Yeah" Yoshimori started while unabashedly locking eyes with the other teen, "but that's because I trust you"

Gen had to break eye contact at that, easily getting flustered at those words even though it made him happy to hear them. "I, uh… trust you too" he mumbled.

This time it was Yoshimori who inexplicably blushed and turned his face to the side. '_Why did it suddenly feel like we're exchanging 'I love you' with each other?_' he cried out inwardly before noticing the cheeky grin Madarao was sending him and therefore turning his face the other way while cursing his dog. '_Stupid mutt putting ideas in my head and making me see things where there aren't!_'

Yet even though it worried him that he became so easily affected with a simple exchange of words, on the inside Yoshimori was secretly thrilled because he felt like he was finally getting through with Gen. Maybe now the tanner teen would stop feeling so cursed. Then a cold breeze suddenly blew making the Kekkaishi shiver but also reminding him of something else.

"Ah that's right!" said Yoshimori as he turned back to his dinner. "We have to finish this up because we have cake for dessert again! But rest assured that I made this one bitter-er than the last one!"

"Bitter-er?"

**~0~0~0~**

Way down on Karasumori soil Hakubi shook his head and commented on the boys' tendency to get sidetracked. "Don't look now Honey but I think they're at it again"

Tokine however was too distracted with her thoughts to pay them any mind. '_This is weird. Only weaklings have been appearing lately. There's no way that Kokubourou isn't up to something_' she worried as she raised her head up to look at the Moon. '_I have a bad feeling about this_'

**~0~0~0~**

"It's happening again!" exclaimed a female student as she looked through the school's third floor window; and not a second later the rest of her classmates joined her at the window.

This strange gathering, of course, attracted the attention of Hiromu Tabata. So moving to stand behind the crowd he recognized as the students from the classroom down the hall, Hiromu stood on his toes to look pass them and see what all the fuss was about. Yet he saw nothing particularly eye-catching.

"I don't get it" he mumbled before tapping a fellow student on her shoulder. "What are you all looking at?"

The girl, whose demeanor brighten at the opportunity to gossip, made Hiromu leaned closer to the glass and pointed toward the school entrance. "See that, this is the second day in a row that the new transfer student walked to school with someone"

"Gen Shishio" Hiromu noted now understanding what the commotion was about. Gen was a student that never approached anyone, so it was in fact very rare to see him walking next to anyone. Much less for two days in a row! Yet what caught Hiromu's attention wasn't so much Gen but the person walking next to him. '_Yoshimori?_'

Having gotten what he came for, Hiromu abandoned the scene and retreated back to his classroom. Once on his desk he took out his databook. There was a nagging voice in the back of his brain telling him to review his notes on who had to be the two most mysterious students on his grade.

Consequently Hiromu frowned when he saw how little he had on them and that most of what he had were incomplete pieces of information. Despite that he was still able to compile a few standouts:

(1) Yoshimori has never before made an effort to get involved in any of his classmates lives, especially after school. (source: personal knowledge)

(2) Nothing is known about Gen's private life. It's all shrouded in secrecy. (source: there's nothing!)

(3) Yoshimori has been seen dragging Gen to the back of the high school building. (source: the lacrosse team)

(4) Gen has rejected the advances of five different girls, one of them twice. (source: Ayano)

(5) Yoshimori has never paid attention to any girl. The only one he could be linked to is Tokine Yukimura who is his neighbor and more importantly a high schooler. Therefore it was improbable for their relationship to develop further than that. (source: personal knowledge)

(6) Gen and Yoshimori have gotten along since a month after Gen transferred (source: Yurina), and are confirmed to be friends. (source: Yoshimori himself)

(7) Yoshimori knows where Gen lives and probably visited him. (source: personal knowledge)

(8) Gen was invited to Yoshimori's house for a meal. (source: Gen's classmates)

(9) Yoshimori is the only person you can link Gen to. (source: personal knowledge)

(10) Gen lives alone without any parental supervision. (source: the landlord of the apartment complex)

(11) Yoshimori and Gen have been seen coming down the stairs leading to the roof together on the day some delinquents took over the P.A. studio. (source: students from the print club)

(12) Gen has walked to school with Yoshimori for two days in a row. (source: female student from across the hall)

'_Hmm_' somehow Hiromu could tell that these remote details meant something if he put them together. Yet he probably was still missing something important. Something else he needed to be able to connect all the information he already had at his disposal. Nothing spectacular is known about either Gen or Yoshimori and this could be just the breakthrough he needed. It was like killing two birds with one stone… '_I need to investigate_'

**~0~0~0~**

When school ended that day, Gen crossed the school gates with the intention of stopping at the bakery to buy bread. But just as he stepped outside he caught a whiff of something dangerous nearby that shouldn't had been there in broad daylight. Without thinking it through he sprinted to its direction and it wasn't long before Gen came face to face with it after turning a narrow alley.

"So good to see you again" said Kaguro making Gen freeze. "I enjoyed our last meeting. Remember how I cut you down? I'll never forget it"

"Why you" growled Gen, his hands slowing but surely transforming into claws.

"I have a question for you" continued Kaguro completely unbothered by the teen's boiling anger. "The sensation you felt when you slashed your sister, do you remember it? I'm curious, how'd it felt? I wonder if you enjoyed it. Wasn't that bad, right? I bet you enjoyed it"

"What did you say?" snarled Gen between gritted teeth, aggression clearly shooting off of him. His claws were fully transformed and ready to tear into something.

"That power" started Kaguro with a philosophical air to him as he took a sudden interest on inspecting his own hand. "You probably want to test it out, right? Ha, I know your type. You're the kind of guy who feels pleasure when wielding power" stated Kaguro before sending the teen a devil's smirk. "You see, I think you're one of us!"

"You and I are nothing alike!" Gen charged, attacking Kaguro with a frenzy of slashes. The ayakashi in human skin however dodged every one of them and even managed to grab Gen's wrist.

Kaguro tooted while now inspecting Gen's claw. "That appearance; how is it any different from mine?" he expressed, temporarily halting Gen's struggle. "Come to our side. Why hesitate further? I can tell you like the feeling you get when you use your powers. The feeling of being free to do what you want without having to restraint yourself. With us you'll be able to have that"

"Shut up!" Gen shouted while freeing himself and launching another attack. "Don't group me with the likes of you!" but unfortunately his fist was easily caught and he was flung against a brick wall hard enough to demolish it.

"So stubborn. Don't tell me you're still hoping for something out of those humans?" Kaguro questioned while shaking his head in mock pity. "Tell you what, at least let me leave you a parting gift" he said as he reached for his inside right coat pocket. "This is an insect egg. It will be your faithful servant once it hatches, but that's not the interesting part. You see it actually develops according to its owner's nature" he relayed while placing in on the ground in front of Gen and smirking in the process. "I suspect that yours will be _very_ ugly"

Gen performed an uppercut slash, that being the only thing he was capable of doing while stuck under the rubble, but Kaguro dodged it by jumping away. The ayakashi in human skin gave a mock salute before disappearing from sight, leaving Gen to drown himself in his own frustration.

… And that's when he remembered the egg.

**~0~0~0~**

**About This Chapter:** As I mentioned before, this chapter is actually two in one. Originally this chapter was supposed to end when Toshimori commented of how Gen never called Yoshimori by name, and the other chapter was the one that ended with the egg. But since I took too long writing this it no longer seemed appropriate to do that because then it would had felt like I was dragging things. Hence I cropped out my original carnival idea and the scenes involving Yoshimori's imagination to try to fit two chapters worth of ideas into one. And to be honest I'm kinda glad I did because now comes the chapters I've been wanting to write since I began this project XD

**About Next Chapter:** Hell yeah I finally brought THE EGG! Now the real drama/angst/doubts/pandemonium officially starts. And yes, there'll be romance delivered as well. And no, not the fluffy-tiptoeing-around-the-subject kind of romance you saw in this chapter. I mean the physical-pressed-against-the-wall kind of one. How am I going to fit that in? Wait and see. I'll hopefully have it written before the end of the month.

**PS: **As for the readers who seen the anime but not read the manga and therefore might be a little confused. Yes, Gen _does_ have three older brothers besides his sister. And yes, they were as cruel to Gen in the manga. 'Till later!


	7. Agony

**A/N:** Man, every time I sat down to write this I got interrupted before I could even type two lines in. This happened almost religiously that I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be able to finish this. Anyways, on with the show!

**Warning**: _M-rated material in this chapter_. (yes, the sexy kind :P)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

-**demon egg**-

* * *

_Standing on the rooftops_

_Everybody scream your heart out._

_Standing on the rooftops_

_Everybody scream your heart out._

_Standing on the rooftops_

_Everybody scream your heart out._

_This is all we got now_

_Everybody scream your heart out!_

'_**Rooftops' by Lostprophets**_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Agony**

**-**_That appearance; how is it any different from mine… Come to our side_**-**

Gen abruptly opened his eyes to rid himself of the memory. As it was he was alone in his apartment. Having just woken up from a dream, he was still laying on his bed. With his right hand he searched blindly the floor next to him until he found what he was looking for and grabbed it. Gen lifted his hand straight upward and in it he held the demon egg.

Just one look was all it took for Gen to grow frustrated with himself.

"Tch, this is stupid" he grumbled while sitting up and enclosing the egg fully with his hand. "I should just throw it away" he muttered under his breath as if to convince himself that there was no other choice.

Gen held the egg in front of him with the intention of crushing it in his hand but for some reason he couldn't summon the strength needed for the squeeze. Instead he could only stare at the egg with a contemplative expression.

'_This thing, even if I don't see what hatches I know I'm-_'

-**A monster -**

Gen jerked up instantly and wildly looked around trying to locate the source of the sound until his eyes zeroed in on the egg in his hand as the only viable option. Staring at it in wide-eyed shock, Gen whispered the only thought running through his mind.

"That was my voice"

-**The voice from your heart**-

There it was again! Gen tighten his grip on the egg, now more convinced than ever that he should dispose of it as soon as possible.

**~0~0~0~**

"We weren't coordinated again today Yoshimori" Tokine chastised a little irked with the amount of times she had to repeat her instructions. "Make your kekkais smaller. I told you that it limits Gen's movements if they're too big"

"Even if you say that-" Yoshimori started to murmur in his defense but was immediately cut off by Tokine.

"After all you _have to_ learn to do it when we're still just practicing" the Yukimura explained with a sense of finality before turning her focus toward Gen who was seating on an airborne kekkai.

The ayakashi-hybrid was too distracted with his thoughts about the egg that he didn't hear Tokine calling to him. In the end, even though he had concluded that getting rid of the egg was the best thing to do, he still kept it.

It was dumb- cross that- It was beyond the stupidest decision he had ever made and he couldn't stop berating himself for it. '_Why am I even hesitating?_' Gen questioned inwardly. Even he couldn't understand his actions. Was it because of curiosity or was he _that_ desperate for company?

"Gen… Gen!"

The night-trooper finally snapped out of his daze enough to pay attention to his surroundings. He saw the way the Yukimura was staring at him and immediately felt ashamed. Yet he didn't want to admit to getting distracted while on duty. Then he noticed Yoshimori who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"What's with you?" questioned Yoshimori. "You're acting weird today. Did something happen?"

"Nothing" was Gen's clipped answer. The kind of reply that left a clear message that he didn't want to be questioned further.

The meaning was apparently received as Yoshimori lowered his eyes and turned his face away. "Sorry, I was out of line"

At the sudden depressing atmosphere Tokine looked at the demon dogs wondering if they had a clue about something she might have missed. When both dogs shrugged she sighed and decided that they should call it a night. Maybe it was just the stress starting to get to all of them.

**~0~0~0~**

Once inside his apartment Gen did nothing but to pace around his room with his head tightly gripped between his hands.

'_Why did I do that?_' Gen questioned himself angrily. He was referring to how he basically had been a dick to Yoshimori when it was obvious that the Kekkaishi was just worrying about him. It didn't take a genius to notice the slight hurt expression the smaller teen had on when Gen basically trampled over his good intentions as if they weren't welcomed. As if they meant nothing to him!

If anything he should have been happy with the mere thought that Yoshimori paid him enough attention to know when something was wrong. It was actually quite amazing how much Gen was beating himself over it.

"Why can't I ever act like a good friend?" he yelled in frustration. "I mean the least I could have done was to quickly apologize right after it"

-**That's because of what you are**-

At the spoken words Gen quickly shuffled through his pockets, took out the egg and held it in front of him.

"Wha- What do you mean?" Gen asked hesitantly as if unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

-**Can't you see? The fact that you're so quick to lash out angrily proves that the monster in you can't be suppressed. How much longer do you think you can keep yourself from lashing out physically the next time something makes you angry? Before you slash them down like you did to your brothers**-

"W-What did you say?"

-**Hahahaha, you don't even feel remorse about clawing your brothers do you?**-

"No, I-" Gen shook his head trying to deny it. The egg however continued pushing the subject.

-**If you look deep enough in your heart, you'll see that you don't regret slashing your sister either. You know she deserved it. Ryo betrayed you. She agreed to give you away**-

'That's not… She cares!" Gen shouted at the egg in agitation, though he was no longer sure if he was trying to convince the egg or himself.

-**Then why hasn't she tried to reach you yet?**- the egg asked; the question surprising Gen enough to render him quiet. -**Four years and not even a letter? Is not like she doesn't know where to find you**-

"…"

-**Don't worry. I will never abandon you**-

**~0~0~0~**

That morning Yoshimori woke up groggier than usual. Bathing and getting dressed for school took longer than it normally did, he completely tuned out his grandfather's daily lectures and skipped breakfast by only taking two cartons of coffeemilk on the go.

In other words he was in a pretty foul mood. A mood that was quickly turning into a headache. And the reason behind it was no other than Gen, Gen, Gen!

'_Stupid asshole shutting me out like that_' thought Yoshimori as he slurped the straws to both his drinks simultaneously. '_See if I ever worry about him again. I'll make him regret ever turning my help down'_

**x-x-**(Scene 6 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination)**-x-x**

_Future!Gen: I'm so sorry Yoshimori. I should have trusted you more than I ever did that bastard older brother of yours!_

_Future!Yoshimori: Heh heh, he is a bastard ain't he?_

**x-x-**(Back to Reality)**-x-x**

"Like that will ever happen" Yoshimori huffed once he was finished with his coffeemilk. No longer having it in him to continue dragging his foul mood around, Yoshimori couldn't help reverting back to his worried phase again.

'_Shishio was acting so weird last night. I wonder what's going on with him…_'

Yoshimori pondered that as he turned the corner. And upon lifting his gaze he spotted the very teen who was plaguing his thoughts. But what made him drop the cartons in his hand was the sight of the person standing next to the night-trooper. It was that Kaguro jerk from the Kokubourou.

"Gen!" the Kekkaishi shouted as he rushed toward his friend.

Upon hearing Yoshimori's voice Gen snapped out of his stupor and attacked Kaguro with a transformed claw. Yet Kaguro dodged the strike by jumping away. Not long after, Yoshimori arrived at the night-trooper's side while watching Kaguro retreat.

"Gen, what was that guy doing here?" Yoshimori questioned while trying to calm down from his sudden adrenaline high.

"None of your business!" yelled Gen making Yoshimori turn to him in confusion only to remain stunned as Gen slashed at him; yet only catching the front of his uniform with the attack.

Even so the ayakashi-hybrid took a step back upon realizing what he just done. He had physically lashed out just like the egg said he would do. The boys stared at each other with shock in their eyes but it was hard to decipher which of the two resulted more affected by the incident. In the end it was Gen who couldn't take the tension so he turned and fled before the other had the opportunity to react.

**~0~0~0~**

Yurina Kanda was trying to pay attention in class but couldn't help getting distracted. Her gaze kept traveling a few seats behind her to where Yoshimori was seating with a green jersey jacket on.

'_He's not wearing his uniform and he's wide awake in class. Something is definitely up with Sumimura-kun_'

She stared up at the ceiling as she let her imagination run wild on possible scenarios of what could had happened to Yoshimori on his way to school. This included everything from fighting ghosts to covering a puddle with his uniform jacket so that a lady could cross the street.

Meanwhile Yoshimori was busy grumbling about Gen ruining his uniform. '_It was my cleanest one too!_' So not wanting to put things on hold any longer, the Sumimura heir resolved to head to the rooftop right after this class was over. Hopefully a particular someone will be already waiting for him.

**~0~0~0~**

Standing still at the ledge of the roof, Gen was staring with a lost expression at the hand he used to slash Yoshimori with.

-**Why even bother thinking about him?**-

The unwelcomed voice shook Gen out of his reverie as he immediately took the egg out of his pocket.

-**They all just pretend to care about you. Your sister was the same way**-

"My sister has nothing to do with this" Gen countered sharply, indicating that he had no patience for the egg today. At least not after proving it right once already. "They like me" Gen stated referring to both Kekkaishis as he lifted his hand to show that he was perfectly willing to throw the egg to the ground three stories below. Yet the egg stopped him with its next words.

-**But that's because they don't know the real you. They don't know what you really are**-

Gen closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The egg just had to bring that fear to surface again. That one worry that constantly weighted on Gen's mind. Yet it affected him more when hearing someone beside himself reaching the same conclusion.

-**The truth is no one will ever truly love you. Except me. I'm the only one. The only one who understands you**-

Gen was about to retort but stopped when he heard someone climbing up the ladder. In slight panic, Gen hid the egg in his pocket and turned his head sideways to see the Sumimura coming into view.

"There you are" said Yoshimori as he spotted the night-trooper. "You owe me a new uniform pal" he stated as he finished climbing the rest of the way. Yet he quickly realized that maybe bringing up the incident as his opening statement wasn't the best course of action as Gen was already walking toward the edge of the ledge. "Hey wait, where are you going?"

"Away" Gen responded indifferently, voice betraying no emotion. After what happened with the egg Gen didn't think he could handle any more accusations. And he was sure that _that_ was precisely what Yoshimori intended to do. "I don't feel like talking today"

"Ha! That's bull right there" Yoshimori proclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest in a smug fashion. "If you didn't want to talk to me then why are you on the rooftop?" he asked rhetorically.

Gen stopped moving at that and lowered his gaze toward the floor. '_Why was I waiting on the rooftop?_' he asked himself only to shake his head at how obvious the answer was. It was because he wanted to be found and as always Yoshimori didn't disappoint him. The Sumimura was indeed a good friend. '_Something I could never be because of what I am_'

The ayakashi-hybrid continued to take the remaining steps toward the edge; and once there he turned his head sideways toward the Kekkaishi but didn't look directly at him. "You know, sometimes I wish my powers were more like yours" he lamented.

"Huh?" Yoshimori questioned but was too late as Gen already leapt away. The Kekkaishi rushed toward the ledge but saw no sign of the tan teen anywhere. "What the heck is your problem?" he shouted but received no answer. Getting agitated he kicked the ledge as hard as he could. "Ouch, ow" whimpered Yoshimori as he skipped on one leg while cradling his hurt foot. He stopped shortly after to scowl at the floor while thinking about the night-trooper.

'_I just don't get you_'

**~0~0~0~**

"Where's Gen?" Tokine questioned from her side of the column. Opposite to her was Yoshimori, hiding from view since he was in the high school locker room and he wasn't supposed to be seen talking to the Yukimura. Her rules of course.

"I don't know" grumbled Yoshimori. "I think he's been ditching me for some reason"

"Did you make him mad again?"

"Wha, no!" Yoshimori spluttered feeling slightly putout that she'd automatically assumed he was the one who did something wrong. "Last I saw him he jumped from the rooftop and before that he was talking to that Kaguro guy"

"Hmm, the Kokubourou might be making their move" Tokine mused while she took a few seconds to reflect on the new information but quickly found that she couldn't concentrate. "To be honest I'm more concerned about finding Gen; but I guess we have to trust him"

"Yeah, I guess so" Yoshimori mumbled dejectedly.

But before anything else could be said, another voiced resonated in the locker room. "There you are Tokine!" exclaimed Kirara as she entered the room. "Wanna come to the library to check out our assigned books?"

"Sure" replied Tokine as her eyes shifted to the column behind her before pushing herself from it and walking toward her classmate. Kirara noticed the small gesture and, curiosity getting the best of her, leaned sideways to catch a glimpse of a boy's shoulder.

"Hey is that the kid that used to wait for you at the school gates every day after classes were over?"

"Oh ah yeah, that's Yoshimori, my neighbor" replied Tokine picking up her pace.

Curiosity stricken further, Kirara followed after Tokine and nudged her arm while giving her an impish smile. "Boyfriend?" she teased.

"What, no" defended Tokine looking and sounding completely caught off guard by the implication. "I only see him as a little brother, that's all" she explained, not wanting to create any further misconceptions as they finally exited the locker room.

His presence seemingly forgotten, a profoundly shocked Yoshimori stood almost fossilized to the column with his eyes and mouth wide open. As he hands were on his stomach, anyone who saw him would think that he just received a heavy blow…

…The ironic thing being that they wouldn't be that far off the mark.

'_B-B-B-Brother?_'

**~0~0~0~**

It took him a while, and he missed the last two periods of school because of it, but Yoshimori was able to regain himself enough to remember that there were still a lot of things he had to do. Like talking to Gen for example. Yeah, that would hopefully provide the perfect remedy to clear his jumbled mind.

**-**_brother, brother, brother, only see, brother, brother, as a little, brother, brother, brother, that's all_**-**

"Gah! Stop it, stop it already!" he cried out silently as he messed up his hair exasperatedly with both hands. '_Quick, think of something else, anything!_'

**-**_Sometimes I wish my powers were more like yours_**-**

Yoshimori stopped ruffling his head at that. The recent memory somehow eclipsed his previous worries. He didn't know why but he got the feeling that maybe he shouldn't put off talking to Gen until night like he had planned. With that thought in mind Yoshimori changed directions toward the other teen's classroom.

"Gen!" the Sumimura called upon entering through the doorway. Yoshimori glanced around but saw no trace of the one he was looking for; only students giving him weird looks. Had Yoshimori stopped to think about it, he probably would have realized that his messed up hair combined with his loud entrance made him look like a lunatic. But as the Kekkaishi had no time to ponder on the stares he was given, he turned toward the nearest group of students. "Hey, do you know where Shishio is?"

The students looked at each other as if deciding who should answer before one turned toward Yoshimori and shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, didn't he go home already?"

Yoshimori's face soured at that but he didn't move; instead preferring to stare unfocusedly at the floor with a furrowed brow.

'_That bastard said something troublesome to me… Gen, what on Earth did you mean?_'

**~0~0~0~**

'_At most Grandmother has been gone for a day. I get a little anxious because of her absence_' Tokine thought as she absentmindedly stacked another book to the ever-growing pile she already had on her hands.

'_But it's fine since I have Yoshimori and Gen. And Masamori and even Atora will be coming to watch over us_' she ascertained as she placed the books in hand on a nearby table. '_Grandma left me in charge so I have to do my best. We'll be okay_'

As Tokine finished getting her thoughts together she finally took notice of the tower of books in front of her. "Whoa, that's way more than I need"

**~0~0~0~**

Gen was seating alone on a bench in the park when his phone started to vibrate. He had done nothing but sit there trying to escape reality for the last couple of hours but he should have known that the peace wouldn't last. '_Back to work_' he guessed.

Retrieving his phone from his pocket and pressing the answer button, Gen held it to his ear and immediately regretted the action.

"Helloooo Gen! It's me! It is me!"

Gen winced and didn't think twice about hanging up on Atora. Seconds later the phone began vibrating again and Gen sighed before answering it. This time with the phone a little further from his ear. "Yes?"

"Don't hang up on me!" Atora's voice rang loud and clear. "This is a business call; a business call!"

"What is it?" Gen interrupted calmly, wanting her to get to the point without setting off another rant. Atora seemed to pick up on it because she relayed the rest of her message without further delay.

"The plans have changed a little bit. We were assigned another big mission and it requires a lot of manpower. So the plan of increasing the number of people assigned to Karasumori will be postponed for a while. Can you guys hold up a bit longer?"

Gen didn't know how to respond to the news but then again it's not like he had any other option than to say 'yes'. Yet before he said anything Atora spoke again.

"And when I come back to Karasumori I'll be staying…" she paused and Gen almost let out a groan when he realized that she was doing it for dramatic purposes. "At your apartment!" she exclaimed happily. "Raizo and the-"

She didn't get to finish as Gen immediately hung up on her. He put the phone away, leaned forward and hid his face on his hands; elbows on his knees.

This time he _did _groan. He was so not looking forward to having that woman at his home controlling him with her every command. No amount of meditation could prepare him for that.

-**Then don't put up with it**-

Gen flinched at the sudden voice intruding his thoughts but otherwise remained motionless.

-**You said it yourself; she doesn't trust what you really are. She doesn't trust **_**you**_**. In fact she even told you not to reveal your true transformation to the Kekkaishis**-

"Cut it out" Gen bite back. "She only said that because she didn't want me to lose my friends"

-**Exactly, because even she knows that no one could love you for the monster you are. Not even her. Think about it. The only reason she is staying in your apartment is to keep you on a leash. You know it is true**-

Something in his chest constricted at those words and it was getting increasingly harder to breathe. But Gen wouldn't give in to the pain. He refused to. Even if he found truth behind the egg's words, it didn't change anything. He had always prepared himself to have no one at his side. He was stronger than that.

-**If you join Kokubourou no one will try to restrain you. You'll be able to be free**-

"Tch" Gen let out a bitter laugh at that. "What's freedom to you anyways?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.

-**Not being afraid of being alone**-

The teen gripped his head tighter as the words registered. But before they could fully sink in he felt an additional weight landing on the bench. The ayakashi-hybrid lifted his face out of his hands and saw it was none other than Yoshimori who took a seat beside him.

Gen averted his gaze. He wanted nothing more than to plant his face back into his hands and pretend he never noticed the other teen; but instead he straightened his posture and sat upright. The night-trooper stared forward as he waited for the inevitable confrontation to commence.

"I have been looking for you" stated Yoshimori, his eyes also gazing forward into a far off distance. There was no accusation laced in his tone like Gen had somehow convinced himself there would be. The Kekkaishi was only stating a fact, nothing more.

"How did you find me?" asked the night-trooper nonchalantly, a small crease forming between his eyebrows soon afterwards. Sometimes it even sickened Gen how easy it was for him to sound apathetic about everything.

Yoshimori gave a barely perceivable shrug of his shoulders. "A hunch, I guess"

"A hunch?"

"Yep" replied the Kekkaishi while planting one foot on the bench. He folded his arms loosely around the propped up leg and rested his chin on his knee before continuing. "Ya know, when I was younger I used to come here a lot when I wanted to get away from all my responsibilities. No one really listened to me but at least here there was no one to boss me around"

Following that line made Gen want to question the Kekkaishi on _why_ he came looking then. The night-trooper wasn't on the school's rooftop so it was obvious that he didn't want to be found. If Yoshimori understood the feeling of wanting to be left alone then why did he come looking? Did the Kekkaishi enjoyed contradicting himself that often? Did he even know how irritating that was?

Yet instead of what he wanted to ask, Gen found himself voicing another question. "If you used to come here all the time, why did you stop?"

"Hmm, good question" said Yoshimori as he pondered on an answer. "I guess that's because I finally found someone who listens. Even if you do bolt half the time I approach you"

"I-I'm the reason?" reacted Gen with his face reddening in embarrassment as he turned toward Yoshimori. The indifferent mask the ayakashi-hybrid previously had on completely broken.

"Well yeah" Yoshimori blinked as he stared back at the other teen while not understanding why the other sounded so surprise about it. "What, did I say something weird?"

"N-No, I, ah…" Gen started but couldn't finish as the words escaped him. Angry at his own inadequacy, Gen closed his eyes and turned his face away. His hands clenching into fists at either side of him.

If Yoshimori noticed Gen's uncomfortability (and how couldn't he with such an obvious display) he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

"Well I gotta go" mentioned Yoshimori as he stretched his legs as well. "Dad wants me to help clean the inside of the house before dinner comes up" he explained before scratching the back of his head and mumbling the last part. "And I'm kinda already late as it is"

Yoshimori only gave Gen a small wave as he walked away and for some reason that made the night-trooper panic.

"Wait!" Gen exclaimed making the Kekkaishi stop. But when Yoshimori turned to face Gen he suddenly found that he didn't know what to do. Gen even began to wonder why he even called after the other teen in the first place.

There were many things the beastly teen wanted to say. He wanted to apologize for being a bad friend; he wanted to say thank you for worrying; he wanted to offer to help with the cleaning just so they could spend more time together. But none of that came out. Just one look from Yoshimori did strange things to Gen that rendered him unable to express himself.

Gen wanted nothing more than to bolt away that very moment like the Kekkaishi mentioned he always did. But he _refused_ to leave without at least saying something to the other teen. He owed him that much!

"I, I'll see you later" the ayakashi-hybrid let out finally and was immediately rewarded with a lopsided smile from Yoshimori.

"Right, see ya tonight" Yoshimori nodded before turning away and heading home.

Things didn't exactly turn out as he had planned. Correction, Yoshimori had _completely_ forgotten what he had originally planned to do. He wanted to ask about that guy from Kokubourou and to vent about what he heard Tokine say. He wanted Gen to tell him that he didn't have to worry about anything and that the Kekkaishi was just overacting. Yet even though he did none of that, Yoshimori still felt an odd sense of accomplishment though he didn't know why.

One thing was for certain though. At first he used to think that Karasumori needed no one else but Tokine and him. But now he was glad he also had Gen there.

'…_maybe I should mention it?_'

**~0~0~0~**

_Do you think a relationship can be fixed no matter how broken it is?_

_I got an extra pillow in my bag if you want._

_Giving you a hug, duh! What else does it look like?_

_You, eww; you mean you actually smell people you perv!_

_Friends go out to places together, but all we ever do is work. That's not right._

_What do you mean you have never tasted the revitalizing wonders of coffeemilk?_

_You are committed to your job and I can appreciate that._

_Is it true that you are happy here?_

_Would it kill you to at least nod my way every time you pass me in the halls? We're not strangers you know!_

_I kinda wanted to see your face, so there._

_Are you planning to talk to me or are you just here to take a nap?_

_Yeah, but that's because I trust you._

_What, you got a problem with a guy baking a cake or something?_

_I finally found someone who listens._

_Hey Shishio, how did I end up getting a piggyback ride from you?_

_I care because I'm your friend! How many times are you gonna make me repeat that for you to get it!_

_You k-kissed me…_

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

Gen woke up with a start; one hand pressed against his rapidly beating heart and the other gripping his futon like his life depended on it. His dream was nothing but filled with Yoshimori's voice and cluttered pieces of all their random conversation. And although that was definitely tipping the unsettling scale, it wasn't his immediate worry.

What was nipping his attention was the tent he was undeniably sporting in his pants. It vexed him because all he had done was to think about Yoshimori's voice.

'_Does that even count as a wet dream?_' he wondered as he hesitantly moved the hand on his chest lower and lower until he reached his clothed erection and hissed. '_Shit, I'm definitely hard down there_'

Gen wasted no time getting on his feet, fixing his pants and rushing to the bathroom. Once in he clutched both sides of the sink and stared at the mirror in front of him; or to be more precise, at his reflection. Just looking at himself gave away how terribly aroused he was and that only made him feel more ashamed of his poor self-control.

This was beyond embarrassing.

His head was whirling as he tried to come up with a reasonable excuse that would justify his hazardous state without leading to more incriminating things. Therefore he tried his hardest to ignore the niggling voice at the back of his mind that told him he had already been down this road plenty of times before and that he should just accept the facts for what they were.

"But I can't" Gen mumbled under his breath, his defeatist tone frustrating even him. "He's nothing but a friend to me and we can never be more than that!" he vented, raising his voice at his reflection.

Yet saying something like that aloud, no matter how forceful, did nothing to suppress his growing feelings. So he tried getting the source of his anguish out of his head but that only caused his mind to paint a more vivid picture of the Sumimura.

"Shit" Gen cursed while strengthening his grip on the sink as his pants felt more constricted than before. Why did these kinds of things always happened to him?

-_I want you to stay here, Gen. I need you!_-

Yoshimori's voice kept plaguing his mind even while awake. And just like that Gen found himself fumbling with the front of his pants, trying to get himself out.

-_Shishio, do you have anyone you like? _-

When he finally freed himself from his confines and gripped his straining member with his right hand, Gen couldn't help the curse that escaped his lips. He felt like he was slowly losing his mind but damn it he could not deny his desires any longer.

-_I knew you were a smart guy, Gen my man_-

Gen steadied himself by griping the sink again with his left hand. Not long after, the ayakashi-hybrid closed his eyes with a notable crease in his brow as he slowly started to pump his erection.

-_You are not allowed to talk to me until you learn to say my name!_-

"Yo-Yoshimori" Gen gasped quietly as he slid his pants lower and started to fondle his balls with his left hand, stimulating himself further. The right hand moved upward to rub the top of his cock. By now he was completely disconnected from the world around him.

-_What? Need me to hold your hand?_-

Gen's right hand returned to its original position and when it did Gen began pumping his raging appendage at a much faster pace. He gritted his teeth as he choked back a moan.

-_You are strong and smart. And have unfairly fast speed too!_-

Why did everything the night-trooper remembered the Kekkaishi saying to him once suddenly sounded much more erotic now?

-_Could it be that your preferences are _-

'_No!_' Gen cut in. He brought his left hand to cover his face as he shook his head. This was wrong on so many levels and he knew Yoshimori would probably not take it well if he knew what the ayakashi-hybrid was doing just with the mere memory of his voice.

-_We are friends remember? That means you should trust me enough to tell the truth. I wouldn't have cared_-

His left hand went back to gripping the sink as he pumped himself even harder than before. Gen even began to thrust his hips forward in order to help the hand currently pleasuring him. He was definitely panting now and the tightening of his balls signaled him that he was close to his climax.

-_Hey Shishio, are you coming with me or not?_-

That alone was enough to undo him and cause him to release. His sperm shot up in strings of white against the front of the sink with some of it splattering on his hand as he gave himself a few more shallow strokes before stopping.

After recovering from the shocks coursing throughout his body, Gen brought his right hand up to stare at the mess in it. This was probably the second or third time he had seen his own semen since he was still particularly young and having reached puberty not so long ago. Plus he had never been big on masturbation; or to be more precise, he never really felt any desire of the sexual kind since he had basically closed himself off from everyone.

Until recently.

Gen continued to stare at his hand as if shocked with what he had just done. It was no lie that Gen had somewhat let his defenses down when he was around Yoshimori. But now Gen was realizing just how deep the faith he had placed on the Kekkaishi actually was. Things had developed to the point where Gen no longer felt apprehensive about having the other close; to the point where he fantasized about getting closer.

And what scared him the most was the possibility that this was much more than a simple attraction.

The night-trooper shook his head and willed himself to bury those kind of thoughts into the deepest recesses of his mind. That kind of thinking would lead him nowhere, he was sure. Instead, Gen focused on cleaning himself up, as well as the sink.

It was almost night-time now and soon he would have to continue with his mission at the Karasumori site.

'_Yoshimori will be there too_' he thought briefly, his cheeks slightly reddening with the memory of what he had done only minutes ago. But like he was doing with everything else that popped up in his mind, he discarded it. He only focused on changing into his uniform and getting ready for the night. Hopefully this one would be as uneventful as the one before it.

**~0~0~0~**

Gen slammed the front door shut hurriedly after entering his apartment. He reclined his back against it as he tried to steady his breath. Unfortunately his patrol at Karasumori had been everything but uneventful.

Yes, tonight they were attacked by an ayakashi but that wasn't anything irregular as that tended to happen every night. The only thing distinctive about this ayakashi was that its physical appearance had a strong resemblance to a female human. But that didn't bother Gen, at least not initially.

Besides the ear-splitting sound her bell made, the ayakashi wasn't particularly strong. Eliminating her shouldn't have been a problem; in fact things should have gone smoothly. Yet as Gen was preparing to strike the finishing blow he suddenly flashbacked to 4 years ago when he slashed his sister. The memory made him commit the almost fatal mistake of abruptly pulling out of his attack and causing his teammates to jump in to save him.

Gen looked down at his trembling hands, palms up. The memory of his sister was still present on his mind; and all of the sudden all he could see was blood staining his hands.

He darted toward the kitchen almost immediately. Luckily he didn't own many possessions or otherwise he would have stumbled on them with his frantic pace. Reaching the faucet Gen wasted no time turning the water on and washing his hands desperately. The treatment was too rough on his skin but Gen didn't seem to care. He wanted the blood out!

-**You can't wash it all away**-

The ayakashi-hybrid grunted as he accidentally scraped his own skin. But other than that he did nothing to acknowledge the demon egg. Not that it served him any though as the voice never really deterred once it got started.

-**The blood can be washed away, but your sins cannot**-

Gen slammed his fist unto the surface next to the faucet. "But I can make it right!" he snapped. "I am making it right" he repeated to himself more quietly, seeking self-assurance. He closed the faucet and flattened his palms down at either side of it. The night-trooper closed his eyes as he tried to keep himself from going into hysterics.

-**Are you really?**-

"Yes" Gen stated forcefully, trying to sound confident in his reply. "Yoshimori said he needed me" Gen argued. "He said he trusted me"

-**People say lots of things they don't really mean**-

"No" Gen denied, shaking his head.

-**You must stop placing your faith in humans. Haven't you been betrayed enough?**-

"Stop it" Gen mumbled as he pressed both hands against his ears to block the sound out. He was quickly losing his barely there composure.

-**Even your own family abandoned you**-

"Shut up!" yelled Gen, his voice coming out strangled as he searched his uniform for the egg intending to smash it against the wall.

-**I will never betray you**-

A choked sound escaped Gen as he kneeled on the floor and gripped the ends of his hair. He hated feeling this vulnerable but couldn't do a damn thing about it.

-**With me you'll never be alone**-

The only sounds that followed for the rest of the night was Gen's labored breathing as he tried to latch on to the remaining bits of his sanity.

**~0~0~0~**

That following morning Gen got out of bed at the same time he did every day. The only difference being that he didn't have to go through the process of waking up as he never really fell asleep in the first place.

Last night had been both physically and mentally draining. And although he hadn't spent it by tossing and turning on his bed, it didn't make his night any less restless. His body was covered in cold sweat and it wouldn't surprise him if he had dark bags under his eyes. But it's not like it mattered to the night-trooper. He didn't have to impress anybody after all.

Gen went through his morning routine robotically like he always did, with no enthusiasm or hopes for what laid ahead. After finishing his routine, complete with a short shower and a quick breakfast, Gen was as ready as he'd ever be to get through another day.

He grabbed his empty backpack and reached for the knob of his door. The beastly teen stopped to inhale and exhale one last time before twisting the knob and stepping outside. He was prepared to avoid people as he made his way to school but instead he stumbled upon someone already waiting for him at his front step.

"Morning Shishio!" greeted Yoshimori the moment he saw Gen stepping outside. "Ready for school?" he asked. But when all the night-trooper did was stand there rooted on the doorway and staring like he had just seen the tooth-fairy or something as equally ridiculous, Yoshimori waved a hand in front of the other's face. "Hey buddy, are you there?"

Shaking himself out from his momentary shock, Gen's expression changed to one Yoshimori was more accustomed to seeing; a glare. "What are you doing here?" Gen questioned defensively.

Thankfully, from past experience, Yoshimori was already used to receiving a less than warm welcome every time he showed up unannounced at the taller teen's apartment and therefore was unbothered by it.

"Well that's a silly question" replied the Kekkaishi in his usual peppy way. "I was waiting for you so we can walk to school together" he said while pointing at his backpack to emphasize the point.

"Don't play dumb" Gen retorted. "You never came to my home for that before so you're obviously up to something"

Yoshimori scowled at that. He hadn't thought that he was being _that_ obvious. "Well maybe I was worried about you since you bolted out of Karasumori before the night was over" the Sumimura countered with attitude. "Is that so wrong?"

-**Lies. He already seen you talking to Kaguro and was there to witness how you didn't finish off an ayakashi when you had the chance. He's no doubt already suspicious of you**-

"Why would you wo-" Gen cut himself off before he could finish the accusation. Something about their argument stroked him with a sense of déjà vu. The night-trooper lost his glare and backed off. "…It's because we're friends, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Yoshimori blinked being caught off guard by the other's sudden changed in character until he registered the words spoken. Then Yoshimori was nothing but grins. "Right! I knew you'll eventually start to get it on your own" he proclaimed making Gen 'tch'-ed as he walked pass the Kekkaishi.

"You didn't have to come to my apartment for that" said the ayakashi-hybrid as he climbed down the flights of stairs to get to the street while ignoring the smaller teen's indignant 'hey!' at being left behind. "Couldn't you wait until we met up on the way to school like we always do?"

"Ha, and risk you avoiding me all morning like you did yesterday?" Yoshimori countered as he finally caught up with Gen and matched his pace. "Face it, my plan was pure genius" he declared, a hint of self-congratulations easily traced in his tone.

-**He's playing you. He wants to keep a close eye on you and you just provided him with the perfect cover to do so**-

The demon egg continued spouting its logic but at that point it was the same as white noise to Gen as for once he chose to ignore it.

Yoshimori gave a brief glance toward Gen and saw something that made him halt all movements. Gen, upon noticing that the Kekkaishi was no longer walking beside him, stopped moving and turned around only to find Yoshimori gaping while pointing a finger to his face.

Before Gen could ask what was wrong with the Sumimura, Yoshimori beat him to it by stuttering what at first sounded like nonsense.

"Your face!" Yoshimori exclaimed; and when the ayakashi-hybrid gave no indication of understanding what he meant with that, the Kekkaishi elaborated. "Just now, you were smiling!"

"W-What?" muttered Gen, automatically averting his gaze and bringing up his right hand to cover his mouth. He could feel a certain heat of embarrassment starting to color his face and quickly turned around to continue his trek to school. "You're too soft" he criticized. "Only you would make a fuss over something like that" Gen scolded, doing his best to downplay the situation.

Too bad the legitimate successor of the Sumimura Clan wasn't listening.

"Hmm, come to think of it I don't think I ever heard you laugh either" Yoshimori commented as he caught up with Gen again.

"And you probably never will" retorted the night-trooper without any real bite to it.

"Then that settles it" proclaimed Yoshimori while slamming one fist into his open palm as he took Gen's statement as a challenge. "I'll get a laugh out of you soon enough. You'll see!"

Gen simply shook his head and tried to hold back his smile as he continued to walk forward with the Ke- no- with _his friend_ beside him. Breathing felt so much easier now because he knew that as long as he had Yoshimori, he would never fall prey to anything.

**~0~0~0~**

Seating arrangements were changed that morning in Gen's classroom. He didn't mind because now he was seated next to the window which meant that it would be easier to ignore any disruptions in the classroom now that he wasn't surrounded by his classmates at every direction. It also meant that he could take time to think without having to hide his face in-between his folded arms. All he had to do was turn his head to look outside the window and he would be able to escape everything.

Kinda like he was doing right about now.

'_Which side should I really be on?_' thought Gen as he stared blankly at tree closest to him. His mind conjured up an image of Yoshimori and Gen smiled outwardly. '_The answer is obvious_'

-**You sure are in high spirits for someone who has fallen into a trap**-

Losing his smile, Gen's eyes narrowed as his thoughts were once again interrupted by the egg. He was starting to think that he should just boil it and get it over it. '_Why am I still keeping you again?_'

-**Because I help you keep things in perspective**-

'_Well I don't need it_' stated Gen inwardly while enclosing his hand around his mechanical pen. '_And by the way you were wrong before. I am not_ _afraid of being alone so you can shove all that Kokubourou bullshit back to wherever it came from_'

-**For how much longer do you plan on living in that fantasy? Do you really think the humans won't leave you behind?**-

'_Yoshimori won't cast me aside. He has more than proven that_' Gen defended.'_Otherwise he wouldn't have come after me so many times_'

-**Then why are you so scared to tell him how you feel?**-

'_W-What? When did you- Cut it out!_' Gen demanded, his grip on his pen tightening exponentially. '_How do you even know how I feel?_' he questioned.

-**I'm the voice from your heart, remember? There's nothing you can hide from me. That's why I know how strong your feelings are. That's why I'm trying to warn you before they harm you. Only I have your best interest at mind**-

Gen covered his face with the hand not holding the pen and let out a shaky breath. On the way to school he had felt his resolve so strong but now it was crumbling almost too easily. '_But Yoshimori…_' the night-trooper started but didn't finish. The Sumimura was really all he had to hold on to. When Gen had resigned himself to a world of only darkness, Yoshimori had provided a ray of hope Gen didn't even knew existed. There was no way he could lose that; was there?

-**If you truly believe in that boy so much then why not confess everything to him already? That's the only way you'll be able to put to rest all of your doubts**-

The ayakashi-hybrid breathing pattern hitched. He shut his eyes tightly closed and gritted his teeth. The students around him also noticed that his shoulders were shaking but said nothing out of respect for Gen because they already knew that he didn't like to be bothered. The night-trooper however no longer took notice of his surroundings. He was too focused in trying to regain his ground; searching his mind desperately for a good comeback.

But nothing came.

-**Why do you hesitate? The answer is simple. It is because you know that what I have said is true. Face it. You don't belong with these people. They will never accept you. That's something that you know well… It's something that you have **_**always**_** known**-

Gen couldn't take it anymore and buried his face between his newly folded arms; his right hand lying over his head to further conceal himself. And to think this was only the first period of school.

**~0~0~0~**

Yoshimori was having a lazy morning as always and slept through his classes all the way until lunch. Then after winning his classroom's monthly coffeemilk drinking competition, he decided that he rather spent the rest of his school day at the rooftop. And so, after making a shikigami to pose as himself, that's precisely where he headed.

Once there Yoshimori was slightly disappointed to see that the ayakashi-hybrid wasn't there to accompany him. Yet the Kekkaishi soon brush it off in favor of continuing his nap. Having Gen around would only feed his need to talk nonstop and that wasn't what the Sumimura came here to do. He wanted rest.

So taking out his pillow and setting up a blue kekkai around him, Yoshimori laid himself down and attempted to catch a few more Zzzz's. That didn't last him long though and after only an hour he found himself staring unseeingly at the clouds.

For some reason he couldn't fall back to sleep, a second unsuccessful attempt at this further proving the point. So finally giving up on it, Yoshimori figured that he might as well take the time for doing some thinking of his own.

The first thing that came to mind was the Kokubourou but Yoshimori quickly dismissed that. They occupied his mind plenty during the night so he didn't really want to think of the enemy during the day. His thoughts then changed to Tokine and coincidentally to what she said to her classmate about thinking of the Sumimura as a kid brother.

"Gah!"

Yoshimori hastily sat up and turned to his left only to remember that Gen wasn't there to listen to his rants. The Kekkaishi's mood dropped as he laid back down, this time with his arms crossed over his chest. He cursed his luck for not having someone there to vent out to. '_Where is he anyways?_' Yoshimori wondered, still completely unaware of the torment the ayakashi-hybrid was currently subjected to.

Now that he thought about it, Gen had looked pretty tired that morning. '_So why isn't he here taking a nap as well?_' Thinking back a little more Yoshimori realized that even though he met up with the other teen because of worry, he hadn't really asked if the other was okay or not. '_Wow, it's not like me to forget that kind of thing. I wonder why I got so sidetracked._'

And that's when he remembered the night-trooper's smile.

The Kekkaishi smiled at the memory but then sat up in alarm just as quickly. '_Crap, what's wrong with me?_' Yoshimori questioned inwardly when he realized how much he liked seeing a smile on the other's face. '_Maybe there _is_ a thing as drinking too much coffeemilk_' he pondered, already feeling sick in his stomach for doubting what was to be the holy grail of all drinks.

Either way Yoshimori had enough of thinking and decided to go back to his classroom before classes were over. Following that thought he stuffed the pillow back into his schoolbag and headed down stairs. Once in his hallway he was about ready to call upon his shikigami to come out of the classroom so that they could switch places until he caught sight on someone in the hallways.

"Shishio?" Yoshimori voiced upon spotting his teammate. Gen's unfocused stare locked with the Kekkaishi's for a brief second before turning himself away and moving down the hallway at a hurried pace.

Yoshimori simply stood there dumbfounded. Something about the way the ayakashi-hybrid looked and acted rubbed Yoshimori the wrong way. It was almost as if Gen appeared to be unstable. Plus he was fidgeting. The Kekkaishi blinked and gave a quick glance at the hall in front of him only to realize it was deserted. But that made sense since classes weren't over yet. And that's when Yoshimori's eyes widen as the reason the situation felt weird finally hit him.

'_Gen is fleeing the school!_'

Upon registering this fact Yoshimori darted toward the direction Gen had gone to only to feel something drop behind him. The Kekkaishi gave a brief glance backwards and saw his notebook on the floor. He realized that he must have not zipped his backpack completely shut but had no time to return for the book. He had a friend to catch. And so the Sumimura left it behind in his haste, not noticing when another person stepped forward and picked up his notebook.

As Yoshimori exited the building he caught sight of the ayakashi-hybrid by the school gates. Yoshimori was about to call after him but thought better of it. If he alerted Gen then it was very likely that he would break off into a mad dash to run away and then the Kekkaishi would never be able to catch up with him. That outcome was so probable that it pissed Yoshimori off. So instead the Sumimura bit his tongue and sprinted, praying against all hope that the night-trooper would not hear him approaching until it was too late.

Gen crossed the street after leaving the school premises and turned the corner that led into an alley. He stopped there, raising his left hand against the wall while his right one gripped the top of his head as he tried to force himself to calm down. The egg's voice had haunted his mind all day long but what was worst was that Gen had found no way to refute anything the egg spouted.

It was slowly but surely eating away at his mental state. But when he noticed that his classmates were starting to give him weird looks Gen just knew that he had to get away from there before something happened that he might regret. He didn't want to risk accidentally lashing out at someone because he was losing control of himself.

And it would surely help if those footsteps he kept hearing would stop getting louder and louder.

'_Wait, footsteps!_'

Gen abruptly turned his body around toward the noise and only got two seconds to register who was following him before Yoshimori shot forward and grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" the Kekkaishi questioned, not missing a beat.

"You?" Gen exclaimed low under his breath in surprised, caught off guard by the other's appearance. But Yoshimori was determined not to get sidetrack this time and so he pressed forward.

"Why are you running away again? What happened?" he questioned demanding an answer.

-**I told you he was suspicious of you**-

"Let go of me!" Gen yelled as he pulled his arm away from Yoshimori's grip but then the Kekkaishi went and grabbed his other one with both hands.

"No!" shouted back Yoshimori. "I don't know what's bothering you but your attitude pisses me off! And since you're not going to talk then I will! What do you say about that, huh? A whole lot of nothing! But that's fine so save your breath!"

"What are you even talking about?" countered Gen as he shook his arm around but to no avail. The Kekkaishi simply wouldn't let go of him.

"Your problem is that you don't know how to ask for help!" continued shouting Yoshimori undeterred even though he was practically being flung around by how hard Gen was trying to shake him off. "You need to stop holding everything inside you idiot! Tell me or don't tell me, I don't care! But I know that what's bothering you so much is probably not worth it so let it go!"

Gen stopped struggling for a moment there and stared at Yoshimori directly in the eyes. The Kekkaishi loosened his grip on the other teen as Yoshimori for the first time since he caught up with Gen took a real good look at the ayakashi-hybrid. They were both panting raggedly but Yoshimori couldn't remember ever seeing Gen look so undone before. The sight completely paralyzed the Sumimura.

-**He's just saying what you want to hear by playing the part of your friend. But is he really? Think about it. If he saw you when fully transformed he would hate you. Despise you**-

"Don't be so naïve!" criticized Gen finally pulling his arm away now that the Kekkaishi was distracted. "Stop saying stuff as if you knew what you were talking about!"

At the words the fighting spirit returned to Yoshimori as he tried to make another grab for Gen. "I may not know much but whose fault is that! You're the one that never tells me anything!" But as Yoshimori stepped forward he was quickly shoved back hard against the wall. Gen held Yoshimori's right wrist up against it with one hand while the other pushed Yoshimori back by the chest to keep him there.

"You wouldn't understand anyways" Gen replied, pinning the Kekkaishi with a glare. But Yoshimori, still wincing from when his head collided with the wall, saw no anger in Gen's eyes. Only desperation. And that's when Yoshimori understood that the ayakashi-hybrid wasn't holding him against the wall to keep him at bay. Gen was only looking for an excuse to keep himself there.

The Sumimura heir swallowed as he met the other's shaky stare with steady eyes. It was all or nothing now. If he wanted to make a breakthrough then he had to choose his words carefully. He was well aware that Gen had trouble expressing himself. That's why Yoshimori had to make the night-trooper understand once and for all that he could confide in him.

Not yet knowing what kind of reaction he would unleash, Yoshimori made his statement. "Then help me understand" he muttered calmly, unaware of the trigger he just pulled.

One moment Gen's hand was firmly pressed against Yoshimori's chest, the next moment that same hand was gripping the fabric of Yoshimori's uniform and then the shorter teen was pulled forward to meet with some resistance in front of him.

Yoshimori's body went rigid, not yet understanding what just happened. He instinctively backed away and leaned against the wall again, feeling the pressure on his lips lessen considerately with the movement.

"What-" the Kekkaishi whispered, eyes wide opened in shock. But he was quickly silenced when the same press he had escaped only seconds ago returned against his mouth in a more demanding manner.

"Don't" Gen urged, the sound of his voice barely audible as he once again captured the Sumimura's lips in an insistent kiss. The ayakashi-hybrid had no idea what exactly he was asking the other not to do but his fear of rejection was just too overpowering right now. The night-trooper was aware that once again he had acted on impulse without thinking. Because of this his whole being was screaming at him to stall time as long as he could to delay the consequences his actions would bring.

And so he closed his eyes and kissed Yoshimori harder. It was really all he could do to stop the world from spinning.

Yoshimori's eyes became half-lidded as he little by little moved his left hand to land on Gen's shoulder. The Kekkaishi knew that something wasn't right and that he had to stop whatever that something was. But it was so hard deciphering what it was with the way his brain had become so hazy. Besides, it was too damn difficult to concentrate with something moving against his lips. '_Was this what I need to focus on?_' he questioned puzzled as he opened his mouth.

Gen's eyes shot open when he felt the Kekkaishi moving. '_Was, was he responding?_' he wondered in surprise. Gen stared at Yoshimori's lidded eyes until his own became lidded as well. It was then that the thought occurred to him that maybe this wasn't a lost cause after all. With that in mind Gen released the other's uniform and moved his hand to the back of Yoshimori's neck; fingers tangling with the Sumimura's long strands of hair.

The ayakashi-hybrid's plan had changed from delaying the consequences to showing the other teen just how much he actually meant to the night-trooper. Gen more than anything wanted Yoshimori to understand. And even if the Kekkaishi didn't return his feelings, Gen wanted him to at least accept them. To accept him for whom he truly was.

Yoshimori, through his cloudy gaze, saw the taller teen closing his eyes again and copied the action. Yet the Kekkaishi found himself slightly opening his eyes again when he registered that something was still keeping his right hand up.

The Sumimura gave a few experimental tugs and was strangely satisfied when it was released so that he could place it on Gen's other shoulder. The night-trooper in return moved the hand he was previously using to hold Yoshimori's wrist and rested it on the Kekkaishi's waist.

Following the action, Gen moved forward in order to fully press his body against Yoshimori's. This of course meant that he had to tilt the Kekkaishi's chin upward so that they could keep the contact between their lips.

Yoshimori gripped the taller teen's shoulders tighter when he felt Gen's body pressing against his own. It felt warm just like something in the back of his head knew it would. The Kekkaishi soon found that by returning Gen's kisses he would be able to take a quick breather in-between. And oxygen was something he desperately needed in order to get his head straight. Yoshimori almost shuddered when his tongue accidentally touched Gen's tongue; yet for some reason he was eagerly anticipating for it to happen again.

Last time the ayakashi-hybrid had kissed him, Yoshimori had been too shocked to remember anything about it. But now the Kekkaishi was given another opportunity to experience it. From now on he would be able to remember the feel of Gen's lips. The taste of Gen's mouth. The wetness of Gen's tongue.

'_Gen, Gen… GEN!_'

Yoshimori's eyes shot open as he finally registered just _who_ he was kissing and soon found himself forcefully pushing the other away with all the strength he could muster.

Gen's eyes snapped open when he suddenly found himself landing on his rear against the concrete. He looked up from his place on the floor and saw Yoshimori looking at him with wide horrified eyes. The sight making the night-trooper freeze on his spot as he also realized how far he had taken his actions.

The Kekkaishi gulped as he slowly moved a trembling foot to the side, the other foot following soon after. Then Yoshimori's entire body started quaking.

"I gotta go!" Yoshimori shouted as he sped away from the alley.

Gen stayed rooted there staring at the spot where Yoshimori had been standing until he could no longer hear the fleeing footsteps. And then…

-**He ran away**-

The night-trooper stared at his shaking hands wondering just what the hell had possessed him to do something like that.

-**He rejected you**-

Gen's right hand clutched his head as he used the other one to try to stand on his shaky legs. He felt something starting to break deep inside of him.

-**He probably thinks you are disgusting**-

The teen stumbled a few steps backwards until his back hit the wall behind him. He had to lean on it until the feeling of vertigo left him.

-**He hates you now**-

Gen gritted his teeth while gripping his head with both hands as he tried to get his bearings back. He literally felt like the world was trying to suffocate him.

-**You lost your only friend**-

"Shut up!" Gen shouted as he punched the brick wall, leaving a sizeable crack on it. His knuckles hurt and were no doubt bleeding, but even that didn't compare to the level of agony budding inside of him.

-**You're alone again**-

That was the last blow needed to send the night-trooper running off as well. He had no idea where he was heading to. He just knew he had to get away before whatever force that was holding the water in his eyes at bay broke.

Just as he exited the alley he caught a glimpse of a boy his age crouching next to the entry with his head hidden under his arms. Yet with Gen already trying to keep his own emotions in check he had no time to ponder on the oddity of catching another student outside of school before the classes were over.

And so the ayakashi-hybrid continued racing down the streets without sparing it another thought.

**~0~0~0~**

Hiromu Tabata had been returning from taking a bathroom break when he spotted Yoshimori running down the halls. Hiromu was in the middle of wondering what that was about as he approached his classroom when he almost tripped on something on the floor. Seeing a notebook there, he picked it up and upon closer inspection realized that it belong to the Sumimura.

Now naturally curious about what was so important that his classmate couldn't pause a few extra seconds to retrieve his befallen possession, Hiromu decided that it wouldn't hurt to follow after the other teen. If caught then Hiromu would just say that he was only trying to return the notebook. That was technically half the truth anyways.

In retrospect it was probably lucky that Hiromu decided to stalk the Sumimura then because if he had entered the classroom he would had stumbled on another Yoshimori already seating by his desk. And there would be no way to logically explain that.

When Hiromu exited the middle school building he again caught sight of Yoshimori but this time he was leaving school premises. This struck Hiromu as odd because he couldn't comprehend why anyone would choose to play hooky with only 30 minutes left of school. Didn't students normally do this kind of thing earlier so that they could do whatever during school hours and not be caught by their parents? What the hell could one do with 30 minutes?

Now, Hiromu would have probably returned to his classroom if Yoshimori had turned right after passing the school gates because that would had meant that his classmate was heading home. Yet when Yoshimori didn't do that and instead crossed to the other side of the street and into an alley, it just screamed suspicious behavior to Hiromu. And where there was something suspicious going on it usually meant that fresh gossip material was lurking in the corner just waiting to be found out.

With that thought in mind Hiromu quickly texted Tomonori, his other classmate, to grab his schoolbag after the bell rang because he didn't know if he would return before classes were over. Having taken care of the small stuff, Hiromu hurried forward. He did not want to miss out on new scoop.

Hiromu had thought that with the time it took him to cross the street it would have taken him ages to figure out where Yoshimori might have run off too; but he squeaked in surprised when he found him still in the alley. Hiromu covered his mouth and jumped out of sight in hopes that the Sumimura hadn't heard him. Slowly, as to not call attention to himself, he crouched against the wall. And then, cautiously, he peeked through the alley's entry again to spy on why his classmate was still there.

What he saw made his jaw drop.

Yes, it was definitely Yoshimori who was there. But he wasn't alone! Right in front of him stood another student from his grade. And even though they didn't share a classroom, there was no way Hiromu could mistake that student for anyone else. That is unless there was another tanned skinned, spiky-haired student with beastly eyes that Hiromu didn't know about—which was impossible by the way—then there was no doubt that the other student was no other than Gen Shishio.

But the fact that they hung together was already on its way to becoming common knowledge; and therefore that wasn't what made Hiromu's jaw drop. No, to get that kind of reaction from Hiromu it had to be something way bigger. And oh my effing god it was BIG!

'_Gen and Yoshimori were kissing_!'

All of the sudden all of the bits and pieces of information Hiromu had gathered on both students were staring to make sense. The reason Gen had rejected every girl that confessed to him; the reason why Yoshimori paid so much attention to Gen when the Sumimura had never before been interested in any of his other classmates; all of it!

'_Oh My God they were kissing!_'

Hiromu hid himself away again and pressed a hand against his accelerated heart. Never in his life would he have guessed that the two most mysterious students in his grade were in _this _kind of relationship. The new information was simply mind-blowing and his hands were just itching to write it down.

With that thought in mind he hastily took out the databook from his jacket's inside pocket and opened it to Yoshimori's page. A pen already in his hand which was shaking so hard that it kept him from immediately applying ink on the page.

'_Oh My Freaking God I can't believe I just saw that!_'

This was huge. If he publicized something like this to the student body then his fifteen minutes of fame were assured. Everyone, especially the girls, would be glued to him asking him to recount the details of his exploits again and again and never tired of it. The fact that he singlehandedly uncovered the truth about two of the most secretive persons on school, especially Gen's who had been the talk of school ever since he arrived, would make him an instant legend.

Then nobody would doubt his material. In fact every time someone wanted something uncovered they will turn to him for assistance. Heck he could probably start charging for his services. And there was no doubt in his mind that by the time high school came he would even have a few people working as his sources for new scoop. By college he would have his own blog with gossip that reached way beyond the local sphere. The natural next step being becoming a successful journalist, probably before even graduating college.

'_God! Were they really K-I-S-S-I-N-G kissing?_'

The information was still shocking to Hiromu whose hand continued to tremble as he stared intensely at the still blank section of the page.

But what about Yoshimori's and Gen's future? Something like this could destroy their reputation forever in school. And even if it didn't there would still be less than favorable repercussions immediately after the big reveal. Considering that Gen wasn't from here he could probably just transfer if things got too out of control. But wait, could this somehow be connected to the reason Gen transferred here in the first place? Could Gen's secret also be related to the fact that he lives alone with no known relatives around?

And what about Yoshimori? Even though they never really hung out together, they have known each other long enough for Hiromu to know that Yoshimori's family have always lived here and have attended Karasumori's school for generations. It wouldn't be as easy for him to escape if things got difficult now would it? But so what? That was what college was for! New beginnings and all that jazz. Yoshimori would be fine. And besides, this was Hiromu's big break. What could be more important than that?

'_They were kissing, and it wasn't just a peck on the lips either. It was serious shit. A full throttle make-out session_!'

Hiromu closed the book and threw it somewhere beside him as he hid head below his arms. The new information was just too much to handle and he didn't know what to do with it. And the fact that his mind kept replaying the scene that he just witnessed wasn't helping either. He barely registered that someone ran out of the alley right next to him but couldn't muster the courage to look up to see who it was. Hopefully the person didn't notice him.

'_Oh My God They Kissed!_'

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N**: Not sure if the chapter turned out exactly how I wanted it but it felt right enough to update so I did. Special shout-out to _**ShadowsArch**_ for making a good guess of what was going to go down in this chapter. And also to anonymous reviewer _**Nel**_, thanks for loving the title of the story! Usually nobody comments on that so I thank you for getting rid of any doubts I had with the title ^^

The Next chapter is the fateful "Battle at Karasumori". Hopefully you all know what that means. See ya then!


	8. His Eyes

**A/N:** Before you shoot me for being absent for a while, I would like to place all the blame on my brother. You see, three months ago he introduced me to the world of Hetalia. Like a drug I became addicted to it and I literally could not pull myself away until I watched every damn episode plus the movie, and read every damn chapter and fanfic involving my favorite characters/countries. So really, it's not my fault than I've been away but my brother's. He's the culprit!

Anyways, now that I seem to have recovered my sanity I immediately went back to this. And like it usually happens, the chapter is long as a way for me to apologize for taking so long in typing it. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

-**demon egg**-

* * *

_I see nothing in your eyes, a__nd the more I see the less I like_

_Is it over yet, in my head?_

_I know nothing of your kind, a__nd I won't reveal your evil mind_

_Is it over yet? I can't win._

_So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left_

_I know that I can find the fire in your eyes_

_I'm going all the way; g__et away, p__lease_

'_**Breath' by Breaking Benjamin**_

* * *

**Chapter 8: His Eyes**

'_Dammit how the heck did this happen?_' screamed out Yoshimori inwardly as he paced in circles for what had to be the hundredth time since he got there. After what had transpired between him and Gen, the Kekkaishi fled to his house as fast as he could. Once he got there though he couldn't quite get inside for fear of bumping into his dad. Yoshimori wasn't quite sure that he could handle answering questions about how his day went so soon. With how shaken the teen was, he didn't think he could answer without losing it and blabbering like a complete idiot. And so there Yoshimori stood…

Frantically pacing in circles before the front door of his house.

'_Gah this is so messed up!_" he cried out as he furiously ruffled his hair with both hands. '_How the freaking cow did we end up like that? Why did he kiss me? This doesn't make any sense! He already knows that I like Tokine doesn't he?_' he questioned ignoring the tiny voice in his voice that reminded him that Tokine only saw him as a kid brother.

'_Does that mean he likes me that way_?' the Sumimura questioned, unfocused eyes widening. '_Shit, what if he does? What am I supposed to do with that?_'

The Kekkaishi however didn't have time to answer that as a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought.

"What are you doing?" asked Toshimori as he wondered why his brother was walking in circles on the front porch and basically blocking the entry.

"N-N-Nothing!" stammered Yoshimori standing rigid all of the sudden to face the youngest member of his family.

"Really?" asked Toshimori blinking once. "Then why do you look so high-strung?"

There was no accusation in Toshimori's question, the kid only having asked because of simple curiosity. But to Yoshimori it felt like he was in a courtroom and that Toshimori was the judge demanding him to confess to murder.

"W-What are you saying? Me? High-strung? W-Why would you say that?" Yoshimori replied scratching the back of his head and letting out a nervous laugh as he tried to appear as normal as ever.

"Don't know" said Toshimori with a shoulder shrug. "It's just that I've been standing here for about 4 minutes and all you kept doing was run in circles while muttering to yourself"

'_Crap_' Yoshimori cursed after realizing that he failed to notice that he had an audience. But now that Yoshimori thought about it, the fact that his little brother was here meant that school was over. This also meant that it was safe now for Yoshimori to step into his house without looking overly suspicious for arriving early. Now all he had to do was convince Toshimori that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Muttering to myself?" Yoshimori voiced aloud. "Oh that's because I was thinking of this new recipe I wanted to try and I was trying to remember what the special ingredient was!" Yoshimori excused as he turned around and opened the door to their home. "Yep, that's it. And now that I remembered it I'll go right ahead and bake it! Busy, busy!" he exclaimed before making a swift retreat inside,

Toshimori could only blink at his brother's strange behavior. The kid, not for the first time, wondered if he was also going to start acting crazy when he reached his teenage years. If so then Toshimori already dreaded them.

**~0~0~0~**

Gen was walking on the sidewalk of a commercial street when he bumped shoulders with an adult. Said adult twisted his features into a snarl before turning around and scolding the ayakashi-hybrid.

"Hey, watch it buddy!"

At this Gen stopped moving only to turn his face sideways with a heavy glare. The teen was having a lousy day as it was and he didn't need anyone adding to it.

"Yeeouch" explained the adult raising his hands in surrender and backing away. "I should've been more careful" he apologized before turning away and fleeing with a "Sorry!"

'_Everyone runs away from me_' Gen contemplated before facing forward and deciding to move on. '_They should_' he added with a scoff. '_I'm a monster_'

-**If you cross over to the other side you could be your true self**-

'_Shove it! Who's asked you?_' Gen shot back.

-**What's keeping you from doing so? Everybody already left you**-

The night-trooper shut his eyes tight at that and continued his trek with gritted teeth. Everyone else on the busy street avoided getting in his way. The egg said nothing more after that, already knowing that it won the battle. Instead it focused on all the negative energy Gen was emitting, the prominent ones being self-hate combined with unadulterated anger.

**~0~0~0~**

Baking had indeed distracted Yoshimori well enough to help him calm down from his previously shaken disposition. But now that all that remained was to wait for it to be done in the oven, Yoshimori had once again boarded the same train of thought he was on before the intermission. Now though, instead of frantically pacing around in circles, the Kekkaishi was slumped against the dining table feeling completely drained of all will to move a single muscle.

He sighed for what had to be the umpteenth time that day as he laid the left side of his face on the wooden table. Even though he knew that his situation was beyond saving, Yoshimori couldn't stop himself from mulling over recent events. Specifically those involving a particular ayakashi-hybrid.

Yoshimori still couldn't figure out what had possessed Gen to do something like that. Sure, it wasn't the first time it happened but back then the Sumimura had been able to convince himself that Gen had meant nothing by it. Besides, following that event Gen hadn't done anything that suggested otherwise and even Yoshimori himself had somewhat forgotten about that particularity of the other teen. But now Yoshimori wasn't sure that he could so easily pass it off as something without meaning again.

This troubled him.

If anything Yoshimori was now more confused about the other boy than ever. The Kekkaishi had tried thinking of the situation from Gen's perspective, as that what had worked for him last time something like this came up. Yet things didn't exactly match up this time.

See last time the sudden kiss came after Yoshimori had been so stubbornly pushy in wanting Gen to 'fess up. And although this time things progressed relatively the same way, the circumstances were all wrong.

For starters the first time it happened they were on the topic of why Gen didn't have a type of girl he liked, and this time they weren't anywhere near a subject like that. Secondly, Gen only had acted scared after the first kiss already happened, but this time Gen looked unsettled way before Yoshimori had confronted him. Not to mention that the spiky haired teen seemed to become calmer the longer the kiss progressed.

So really, what did it all mean? Did Shishio really like him that way? If so then how was Yoshimori supposed to react? In fact what would Tokine think if she ever found out?

Yoshimori let out another sigh at that one. This would have been a hell lot simpler if Tokine was the one who'd kissed him. Then Yoshimori would've already been living the dream instead of being weighted down by this huge baggage of uncertainty.

When Shuji entered the dining room to prepare it for tonight's dinner, he tilted his head toward Yoshimori in slight puzzlement. Considering that his middle son never made it a habit to lounge in the dining room if food wasn't already on the table, the scene seemed odd to Shuji. Yet being the easygoing father that he was, Shuji paid no mind to it and instead sat by the table to set up the plates. After all it was always nice to have company while doing the house chores.

So it was with a smile that Shuji proceeded to dust off the bowls and cups one by one with a handkerchief before setting them down on their designated spot.

"You know, I saw the cakemix you placed in the oven" said Shuji jovially trying to make light conversation. "I took the liberty of turning on the oven for you seeing that you somehow forgot to do it" he explained with a lighthearted chuckle before a different thought occurred to him. He faced Yoshimori with a guilty look. "You weren't planning on adding anything else to it, were you? I guess I should have asked before heating up the oven"

Shuji's concern however seemed to fall to deaf ears as the Kekkaishi heir didn't even stirred from his position. That was a dead giveaway to Shuji that something was amiss since it was highly unusual to not get a reaction out of his son when his pastries were involved.

"Yoshimori, did something happen?" he asked with a concerned frown.

"Hmm?" uttered Yoshimori as if now realizing that he wasn't the only one in the room.

Now that he got a reaction from his son, Shuji summarized that Yoshimori was simply spacing out before and therefore there was nothing to worry about. Hence Shuji went back to wiping clean the plates as he merrily asked about how Gen was doing these days. Yet the answer he received sent him back to worry-mode again.

"I, I don't know" replied Yoshimori as he sullenly sat up straight although keeping his gaze lowered. "We haven't been communicating that well lately"

The Kekkaishi was about to lose himself to his thoughts again until his father called for his attention.

"Look at this platter" said Shuji, waiting until he had his son's focus before continuing. "It has three legs on the bottom, right? If there were only two it wouldn't be stable. When one is missing it doesn't work. I think that the 3 of you function the same way" he finished by handing the plate to his son.

Yoshimori, having no other option but to take it from his father, held the plate in front of him with his right hand. By the concentrated look Yoshimori was giving it, Shuji ascertained that his son was in fact mulling over his metaphor. So feeling understandingly satisfied about having given his son food for thought that would hopefully help Yoshimori out of whatever funk he was under, Shuji stood and left to finish preparing the actual meal he was serving for dinner.

In the meantime Yoshimori was trying to internalize what his father said to him.

'_Dad was probably talking about teamwork_' the teen rationalized while fixing his gaze on the legs of the plate. '_And with only two of us the team won't work_'

"Then that probably means that Shishio's the missing piece" mumbled Yoshimori before letting out a long suffering sigh and setting down the plate somewhere beside him so that he wouldn't have to look at it. If Yoshimori got it right then the moral behind his dad's speech was that they needed Gen to work together with them for things to succeed. But considering recent events, their future as teammates was really starting to look bleak.

"We're screwed" groaned the Kekkaishi while face-planting on the table. It was true that through their collective efforts these past weeks the defenders of Karasumori had greatly improved their capability to stay in sync with each others' abilities to the point where it almost came second nature to them. And _that_ was a remarkable feat considering how many times their personalities clashed with each other. But considering what happened earlier this day, Yoshimori had serious doubts things would continue as normal.

"Damn it" the Kekkaishi whined while clutching his head with both hands. "Why did Gen have to go ahead and kiss me then? He must have known something like that would screw the team up!"

Nothing added up for Yoshimori and it frustrated him to no end. '_I mean things were going on well, weren't they?_' he stressed in his head. '_The Yukimura and the Sumimura Clan were finally working together, I finally gained my first real friend beside Tokine, and Shishio was… he was… happy_'

That last thought did him in. Yoshimori loosened the grip on his head, once again feeling dejected.

If the Kekkaishi remembered correctly, and he had a feeling he did, Gen had mentioned that he hadn't felt happiness in a long time. When questioned further the ayakashi-hybrid even confessed that it was because he liked being around them, his teammates. '_I even saw him smile for the very first time today_' supplied Yoshimori's mind.

The memory of it began to tug a smile of his own on Yoshimori's lips before the Kekkaishi caught himself and abruptly sat up straight, slamming his palms on the table. '_What's wrong with me?_' he questioned, startled by his own reactions. '_I'm entitled to a certain amount of fondness ain't I?_' So what if he was about to smile because of that memory? Shishio was a friend so the Sumimura was perfectly allowed to think back on that moment with fondness, wasn't he?

It bothered Yoshimori how he was suddenly starting to second-guess everything he did now.

'_But friends don't kiss each other_' a voice in the back of his mind argued. This brought Yoshimori back again to the main issue, the reason he was an emotional wreck in the first place. '_Why did Gen kiss me?_'

Thinking back on it, now that he was much calmer, Yoshimori remembered how undone the ayakashi-hybrid had seemed that afternoon. Paranoid even. Kinda like if Gen was stressing and beating himself up over something.

"Heh" Yoshimori let out a bitter laugh as he realized that that same description currently fitted him as well. But back to Gen.

Shishio looked troubled, there was no denying that, but wouldn't say why. And Yoshimori, being Yoshimori, just _had_ to try forcing the answer out of the night-trooper. Yet Gen never answered. Instead, he found a way to quiet Yoshimori down.

But that was it wasn't it? That's the part that didn't add up to the Sumimura. If all Gen had wanted was to make the Kekkaishi stop talking then the ayakashi-hybrid would have stopped after the initial press of lips. Yoshimori was already spluttering after that so there was no use to keep going at it. Gen could've easily fled after that and Yoshimori wouldn't have been able to react fast enough to stop him.

Yet things didn't turn out that way in the slightest. It was quite the contrary actually as Gen decided to prolong it instead. He _wanted_ it to continue and _that_ led to the biggest difference between the kiss that happened in Gen's apartment and the kiss that happened today at the alley.

The length.

No matter how Yoshimori tried to slice it, the main difference between their first and second kiss was how long they lasted. The first time it happened it was so quick that all Yoshimori had to do was blink and it was over. But the one that happened today, well, it lasted much more than what Yoshimori was comfortable to admit. Consequently, this brought forth another issue that the Kekkaishi had been trying to avoid acknowledging.

Previously, when Yoshimori was freaking out on the front step of his house, his mind had subconsciously prevented him from analyzing this particular fact precisely because of what it entailed. You see, the only reason the kiss had lasted for as long as it did was because Yoshimori had responded to it. But if he counted that as true then…

'…_What does that say about me?_'

**~0~0~0~**

After dinner at the Yukimura Household, Tokine volunteered to do the dishes for her mother. Coincidently this provided an opportunity for her to be alone with her thoughts, or in her case, her worries.

'_It makes me nervous to not have Grandma around. She never really been gone for this long before_'

Catching her line of thinking, Tokine shook her head and tried to steer her thoughts toward a more optimistic direction. '_But I guess it will be okay. Yoshimori and Gen are still here and Grandma has faith in me,_' she affirmed to herself just like she had done previously at school. '_I won't let her down_'

Yet just as she declared this a plate cracked in her hand. Suddenly she didn't feel as self-assured.

'_Is this… an omen?_'

**~0~0~0~**

It was late in the afternoon when Yurina Kanda finally left Ayano's house after their study session. Tomorrow they had a Biology quiz which counted as their last one before the Spring Break came in. Unfortunately, as it often happened when she studied in a group, the one thing they did not do was to actually study for their exam. Instead Ayano used all of hers and Kyoko's time to devise a plan to make Aoi confess to another guy.

Consequently that meant that if Yurina wanted to pass her Biology test tomorrow she had to hurry home or risk pulling an all-nighter to study. Not to mention that the sky was already red. This meant that the Sun had started to set which was bad since she had promised her parents that she would be home before nightfall.

With that on mind she picked up her pace. However, because she rushed, she wasn't able to stop in time when she turned the corner only to find that someone else was in the middle of turning it as well.

Hence she crashed into said passerby.

"Owie" Yurina cried as she hit the pavement landing on her rear. She quickly shook the pain away in order to promptly apologize for her clumsiness though. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to-" but her voice died in her throat when she identified the person she'd bumped into. '_It's that scary transfer student!_' she panicked inwardly.

Gen was instinctively going to offer his hand to help her up but stopped himself when he caught the frozen look on the girl's face. '_She's that girl from school that's always afraid of me_' he recognized while giving her a flat stare. Then that stare morphed into a glare when he noticed her shoulders were trembling. Apparently that fear hadn't gone away.

"Tch" the ayakashi-hybrid tried to suppress snarling in aggravation as he tore his gaze from the girl and walked around and past her in measured steps. He literally could not wait for this terrible day to be over. However, he didn't manage to take even ten steps away before the girl he just bypassed was shouting something from behind him.

The teen stopped his trek in incomprehension before turning his face sideways to glance at the girl. "…What, did you say?" he asked hesitantly, not being able to completely mask the bewilderment in his voice.

"I, I said good luck!" Yurina practically shrieked as she forced her voice to come out. She was standing facing his direction, albeit with her eyes tightly shut, with both fists firmly pressed just below her collarbone as if to give herself courage.

All in all Yurina was still shaking. Yet there she was confronting Gen either way. And all to say 'good luck'? With what?

Gen had no idea and frankly he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Having said that, he was sick and tired of having these inner battles with himself only to end up with more questions than answers. So damn tired of being irremediably confused. If anything, today had drained him so much that even the egg seemed to be taking a break. In other words, Hell will come before Gen let yet another question go unanswered.

"Why?" he inquired with unrestrained hostility in his tone.

Yurina, getting understandably more nervous around the other student who looked like he was about ready to smite her or something equally morbid, did what she usually did in this kind of situations. And that was to start rambling at top speed, her eyes shifting everywhere but in front of her.

"I-It's just that you are probably headed toward our school to protect it from ghosts and monsters and I just wanted to wish you luck and-" she managed to cut herself off before adding a 'please don't eat me' at the end of that sentence.

After a few seconds of tense silence that felt like hours to Yurina because of how suffocating they felt, she found the courage to sneak a peek at the transfer student. The boy was staring directly at her with his mouth slightly ajar, possibly at a loss of words. Yurina figured he was probably wondering how she knew that; so wanting to break the silence encompassing them, the girl began to explain at a noticeably calmer manner. There was still a slight shakiness to her voice though.

"Y-Yoshimori's big sister told me you been helping them lately. You see I can s-see ghosts too and saw them fighting one night". When Gen looked even more confused with what she was saying she attempted to explain herself better. "U-Um you see I went to talk to her about your stench when you first transferred here but Yoshimori's sister said that I didn't have to worry about it and that you just came to work with them so um, that, yeah…" she trailed off, not knowing what else to add.

The night-trooper closed his mouth in a tight line as he tried to make sense of what the girl was telling him. Okay, so apparently she could see ayakashi and, if he had to guess, he figured that the girl was referring to the Yumimura when she spoke about Yoshimori having a sister. But that wasn't what was immediately boggling his mind right now.

"…Stench?"

Yurina nodded in the affirmative before realizing that the male was actually asking about what smell she was talking about. So without giving it a second thought she answered bluntly. "Of blood"

Gen's eyes only widen for a nanosecond before rapidly breaking eye contact with the girl by giving his back to her once again. "I see" muttered Gen before starting to walk away again.

Yurina's trembling seemed to completely stop after catching a glimpse of confliction in that brief moment before Gen averted his eyes away. She didn't know if her sixth sense was to blame, but as she saw Gen getting farther away all she felt was this suppressing aura coming off of him. It was so thick and heavy that it was weighting her down. But most of all, for some inexplicable reason, it felt almost heart-wrenching. Even her eyes were feeling like they wanted to tear up.

"Wait!" she heard herself yelling at the top of her lungs before she could even realize she was doing it. Yet when she saw that Gen had stopped moving she suddenly felt the need to keep at it.

"I, even if you smell like blood and I find you scary, I know you're a good person! I mean, Yoshimori says that you are his friend and that's something he doesn't say about many people. Plus Yoshimori is the most kindhearted person I ever met so that means that you can't be bad if you're his friend, right? That has to be true, right?"

Yurina had absentmindedly shortened the distance between the boy and her in half as she spouted that. She blinked and came to a stop once she realized how much closer she was standing to the other student. Her cheeks colored upon realizing that there was no need to shout within that small distance. Then she blinked again when she noticed that she was no longer scared to be in the dark teen's presence. Not only that but the depressing aura from before also vanished.

Gen however remained rooted on his spot, not braving a glance behind him. It was true that the moment he heard that he reeked of blood, all of his insecurities about being a monster came forth. He was about ready to fall deeper into his depression because honestly, what more proof did he need? But hearing that girl talk about Yoshimori publicizing that they were friends pulled heavily at his heartstrings. That meant that the Kekkaishi truly had been honest when he said that he wasn't ashamed to be seen with the ayakashi-hybrid.

The night-trooper had to cover his face with one hand to hide the way his face was scrunching up with the powerful emotions that invaded him all at once. Yoshimori was his friend and Gen wanted nothing more than to delude himself with thoughts that maybe he hadn't screwed that up olympicly.

At least until he reaches Karasumori, Gen would like nothing more than to pretend that things were still okay, no matter how pathetic that made him sound. So with that in mind there was really only one thing to do. Something he remembered Yoshimori being vehement about teaching him to do.

"What… what's your name?" he asked while swallowing in between, the teen trying his damn hardest to make his voice come out as unaffected as he possibly could.

"Oh, me?" the girl asked pointing at herself even though the boy wasn't looking her way. "My name is Yurina Kanda but my friends call me Yuri" she replied not sounding uneasy in the least.

A small smile tugged Gen's lips at that. It seemed like the girl was no longer scared of him. Even though he knew it was because she had no clue of what his true self looked like, it still warmed Gen up a little, no matter how pointless the feeling was.

"Thanks, Yurina"

This time it was Yurina who stood frozen on her spot as Gen immediately jumped over a fence and darted toward the direction of Karasumori. "Gosh," she didn't know what she did to earn the thanks of the beastly transfer student but that didn't stop her from feeling a strange sense of accomplishment. Yet upon realizing that the Sun had already set she began to panic and to run in the direction of her house. '_Mom is gonna scold me for sure this time!_'

**~0~0~0~**

"What do you mean we gotta keep an eye open for that kid again?" whined Madarao despondently to his owner. "He's here, what more do you want?"

"It's a private matter" quipped Yoshimori as his eyes scoped the area apprehensively from side to side. "So stop with the questions and just tell me if he comes near"

At that impassive response Madarao could only roll his eyes and grumble. "Oh boy, something happened between the two of you again didn't it?" The statement seemed to fluster the teen; so grinning, the demon dog decided to take his teasing up a notch by wailing overdramatically. "You two have gotten quite friendly so fast, I feel so left behind!"

"I-It's not like that!" sputtered Yoshimori in mortification at what the dog was insinuating about his and Gen's relationship. Even so a traitorous blush spread across his face as he remembered just how 'friendly' he had gotten with the night-trooper a couple of hours ago. Thankfully Madarao was enjoying himself too much to notice.

"Stupid mutt" grumbled the Kekkaishi under his breath as he turned away from the dog. '_It really isn't like that_' Yoshimori restated in his brain.

Truth was that Yoshimori only wanted to know where Gen was so that he could avoid the night-trooper at all times without making it look like he was running away. At least until the Kekkaishi could get his head straight and figure out exactly how he felt about the other boy. Until _that_ happens he could _not_ afford to confront Gen.

Moreover, the Sumimura was still a little shaken by what went down that afternoon. He was also a little restless as thoughts about the incident plagued his mind enough keep him from sleep all day long. In other words the Kekkaishi was in no shape or form ready to act normal and unaffected with the other teen around. '_Besides, he's probably avoiding me too so no harm done, right?_'

"Yoshimori, something wrong?" asked a voice from behind him making the Sumimura yelp and jump a few feet away from the newcomer. Hastily spinning half circle, Yoshimori exhaled in relief when he saw it was only Tokine.

"Did we miss something?" questioned Hakubi, stopping to float beside Tokine as he raised his brow at Yoshimori. The black dog pretty much voiced the question running through everyone's minds at the Sumimura's bizarre behavior. Yet Tokine brushed it off as she had more pressing business to attend to with her counterpart.

"Listen Yoshimori, I've been meaning to tell you that Grandma is-"

"Can you tell me later?" Yoshimori interrupted while turning away. "I need to go and, um, have some manly alone time. Yeah, that's it" he excused as he dashed away leaving Madarao with no choice but to hurry along behind him.

Tokine stared after Yoshimori with a baffled expression before facing her dog. "Manly alone time?" she asked, looking lost at what something like that meant. Hakubi, having come to the wrong conclusion, just shook his head before giving a pitying glance at the direction the other Kekkaishi went to.

"Oh Honey, you don't want to know"

**~0~0~0~**

As enemy activity seemed to be pretty much nonexistent that night, Gen Shishio found himself with nothing to do but stay put on his position, which was sitting on a branch of the tallest tree on Karasumori. He was perfectly content with staying up there and avoiding crossing paths with Yoshimori for the rest of the night. And if the Yukimura wanted to find him for training he would just ditch her. She was good at taking a hint so he knew he wouldn't need to give any further explanation for her to leave him alone as well.

Yep, that was all he really had. His solitude. Maybe it was high time for him to realize once and for all that he didn't belong with anyone. Unfortunately he couldn't stop himself from thinking back to that outing he had with the two Kekkaishis and the Sumimura younger sibling; this shaking his resolve and making him wish for his earlier statement to be untrue.

Gen bared his teeth angrily for doing it again. 'Hoping' that is.

Ever since that time when Yoshimori had told him that he needed him, Gen had found that he couldn't stop himself from daring to hope. And it pissed him off! Even back then Gen knew that something like that would only bring him more pain yet here he was again, clinging to hope. Was he really _that_ incapable of learning from his mistakes? Gen groaned realizing that he was indeed a pathetic idiot.

Yet before he could continue to drown himself in his own self-pity, his phone began to beep. Quickly rummaging his left pocket he retrieved his mobile and saw it was none other than the Chief calling him. It felt like forever since the last time the Chief had directly contacted him.

"H-Hello?" greeted Gen, holding the phone with both hands next to his right ear. He always felt a tad self-conscious when speaking with his boss.

"Can you talk?" came Masamori's unmistakable voice clearly.

"Yes"

"How are you?"

"…I'm fine, I guess"

"Just fine?"

Gen ignored the question and the curiosity behind it, not feeling like being interrogated. "How are you?" he asked instead.

"Me? Well I'm fine too I suppose," Masamori laughed good-humoredly. "I thought you'd already heard the news"

"About the really big job?"

"That's right" the Chief answered sounding distracted. "Do you think you can hold down the fort until I get back? We'll still wrapping things up here"

It was practically the same question Atora had asked him yesterday, and just like that time Gen felt like he had the obligation to answer with an affirmative "Uhuh" even though he was filled to the brim with insecurities.

"Good, I'm counting on you" he stated, making Gen's throat dry up. "Bye then"

"Chief…" Gen started but it was too late; Masamori had already disconnected the line. The teen sighed in defeat as he lowered his phone enough to be able to stare at it.

-_I need you Gen_-

'_Damn it!_' cursed Gen inwardly wondering why everything reminded him of the words Yoshimori once said to him. That was pointless now! On the other hand, at least that call served to remind him that even if he lost his place here at Karasumori he still had his job at the Night Troops to go back to.

-**Please, don't you see? Your Chief is thrilled to be rid of you for good**-

"S-Shut up" Gen grumbled between gritted teeth as he clutched his head to stop the impending headache coming his way.

-**Even among the lowly Night Troops you were always an outcast**- the egg continued mockingly. -**A your boss? The only reason he sent you to Karasumori is because he found you unmanageable**-

"Just shut up already!" he shouted frustrated.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the school, Tokine was busy tracking down Yoshimori. He had been acting very strange lately and it simply needed to stop. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Gen had made no effort to meet with them even though he knew that Tokine was strict about letting more than one night go by without training.

Something was happening with those two, of that much she was certain. But if it involved each other or not she wasn't sure. What she _did_ know was that she given them plenty of time to sort things out by themselves but _obviously_ that wasn't working. Not to mention that they had bigger things to worry about, like the bad feeling she was having about tonight.

Yet nothing was going to get solved unless they do it together! So enough was enough! It was about time she took the reins into her hands. And if that meant she had to bully them until they 'fess up to her then so be it. That's why she had Hakubi lead her toward Yoshimori first. He was the easier target to catch after all, not to mention the easiest to crack.

"He's there Honey" pointed Hakubi to his master.

Tokine's eyes zeroed in on her counterpart Kekkaishi and strode imposingly toward him. "Yo-Shi-Mo-Ri" she bellowed out as she neared him making the Sumimura give another startled yelp. Yet as fate would have it, Tokine never got to ask her questions as at that very moment Madarao looked up to the sky and informed them that they were no longer alone.

Both Kekkaishis followed the white dog's gaze toward a huge dark cloud in the sky and watched in horror as a rain of ayakashi began pouring down unto the site.

Elsewhere, a certain egg that appeared to be about ready to hatch was joyfully welcoming the Kokubourou fleet.

-**See? Your _real_ friends have arrived**- it proclaimed, the start of an all-out battle following soon afterwards.

**~0~0~0~**

Gen was running amuck slicing each and every ayakashi he encountered as if they had personally offended him just by existing. '_I am not one of these monsters!_' he repeated in his head angrily over and over again.

"Ketsu, Ketsu, Ketsu, Metsu!" chanted Tokine as she pulverized the three ayakashi that were trying to surround her.

"More and more keep coming out of nowhere!" observed Yoshimori loudly as he caught a bunch of ayakashi before they touched the ground. "Metsu!" he chanted as he destroyed all of them with one single kekkai. "Ha, take that!"

"No time to gloat" commented Madarao while growling at the next line of enemies. "There are more of them coming!"

Yoshimori scowled at that, never linking when someone rained on his parade. "Pft, now I'm getting annoyed! Ketsu!" he chanted but Gen swooped in out of nowhere and killed them all off while destroying Yoshimori's kekkai in the process. "What the hell? Stop getting in my way!" shouted the Kekkaishi indignantly after the night-trooper.

It seemed that his competitive streak far outweighed everything else in Yoshimori's mind, even to the point of making him forget the fact that he was trying to avoid talking to Gen just a few minutes ago.

Tokine however looked their way with worry. '_They are not working very well together_'. If she was to be sincere with herself she'd admit that it was a tad disheartening to see all their team training amounting to nothing. But when Yoshimori furiously started killing off enemies at random, Tokine remembered that she was supposed to intervene.

"Yoshimori, pace yourself" she commanded with an authoritative tone as she approached the other Kekkaishi. Once she set herself next to the boy she continued at a more leveled tone. "There's got to be more than these weaklings here. We'll just fall into their trap if we overexert ourselves too soon"

The male Kekkaishi nodded an "Okay". At least he still listened to her and for that Tokine was grateful. They stood back to back and that's when Yoshimori noticed a large fireball falling their way. "What the- Ketsu!"

He was able to surround them within a blue kekkai as who appeared to be an ayakashi leader crashed its way into the fray while burning all the surrounding low level ayakashi out of the way. The remaining ones fled the site in fear of their demise.

Identifying itself as Gagin, the ayakashi swiftly launched an attack in hopes of exterminating the bugs that dared call themselves warriors of Karasumori. Said attack was left null-ed by an impressive show of teamwork. Gagin then proceeded to laugh when realizing that he may have misjudged their potential. Deciding that it was okay to go full power, Gagin shed its human skin and revealed his true form as a horse demon before rampaging on them.

One problem though. The horse ayakashi was only focusing on Gen. Yet considering that the night-trooper was already used to playing the bait, the other two protectors found no reason to worry at first instance. Instead the Kekkaishis took haste getting airborne in order to pinpoint the enemy. Yoshimori was the first to spot the intruder and wasted no time on trapping it in a kekkai. But when he tried to Metsu it, it had no effect.

Now they worried.

Gagin however only stopped to scratch its chest in brief confusion before moving forward with the chase, this time with the use of fireballs. As Gagin kept targeting Gen, all the Kekkaishis could do was support their teammate by blocking the fireballs before they could hit.

Unfortunately since the enemy kept moving all over the place as it closed in on the night-trooper, the Kekkaishis weren't able to reflect the fire back to the horse demon. Instead they redirected them toward the sky. Things progressed like that until Gen made the rash decision to stop trying to evade in exchange of trying to deflect one of the fireballs back to its owner by using his claws.

From a theoretical perspective Gen was successful in the sense that he indeed managed to land a direct hit on Gagin; but it came at a great prize.

-**What are you doing on the ground? You are only being beaten down and punished once again. Just _who_ are you doing this for? Do you think they're going to thank you for it? Do you think any of them appreciates what you're doing for them? I bet than even now they are criticizing you**-

"Gen!" called Tokine as she landed on the ground and rushed to him.

Yoshimori followed close behind and was already expressing his indignation. "Idiot! Why didn't you dodge that?"

"Stay away!" Gen shouted/ordered, doing his best to sit up. That was when both Kekkaishi noticed the missing limbs.

"But you're a-arms…" Yoshimori stammered with a stricken expression similar to the one Tokine was sporting. "Look at them"

"I'm not as fragile as you are" rebuked the night-trooper between gritted teeth while glaring at Yoshimori with evident disdain. "This is nothing compare to all the pain I've already gone through!" he shouted and not a second later his arms regenerated in their entirety, startling even Gen himself.

'_Wow… I never healed so fast_' he thought in temporary amazement before remembering that he had company. Chancing another glance at his teammates, Gen took in their speechless expressions; Yoshimori even adverted his eyes the moment they made eye contact. This led the ayakashi-hybrid to turn his face away as he was hit with yet another bout of depression. '_I knew this would freak them out_'

At the same time Yoshimori was having an internal struggle of his own. When Gen mentioned the pain he had suffered, Yoshimori got a sense that somehow the night-trooper wasn't only talking about physical ones. But what hit Yoshimori the hardest was the niggling notion that he wasn't helping to alleviate them at all but was instead adding to them. The Kekkaishi wouldn't be able to live with himself if that were true.

"You idiot" muttered Yoshimori, returning his gaze toward the night-trooper. "Nothing good comes from hurting yourself". If the Kekkaishi wanted to make amends he had to start by keeping further harm from accumulating. "Just because you heal fast doesn't mean that-"

"Why do you care all of the sudden?" Gen barked out not letting the other finish while closing his transformed fists on the ground in frustration. "You sure as hell didn't care before!"

The Sumimura felt the blow and said nothing in his defense, feeling like he deserved it.

"Look out!" warned Tokine as she blocked a fireball with a green kekkai. It seemed like Gagin took advantage of the fact that they were preoccupied to levitate to the sky only to unleash on them a barrage of fireballs. Seeing the large scale of the assault pouring their way, Yoshimori quickly assisted her by putting up additional barriers to protect the group.

Gen lifted his gaze as if to view his teammates' performance, but in reality he was lost in himself. No matter how he felt about the Kekkaishis, he had to protect them. That was what the job imposed on him required him to do after all.

But what could he do?

'_He's too strong for me in my current level, but if I fully transformed I'm sure I could take him out_'. But then the teen remembered that he'd be kicked out of the Night Troops if he did that, rendering his job meaningless in the process. '_And besides_' he thought as his vision refocused on the Kekkaishis' backs, "_If those two saw my true form they'd be even more disgusted by me_'

Just then the enemy's assault overwhelmed Tokine's kekkais, making her stagger back, but fortunately Yoshimori was quick enough to widen the reach of his kekkai to cover all three of them. "Don't worry I got this!" he exclaimed confidently as he reinforced his protective layer.

Yet Gen wasn't convinced, and judging on how ineffective the Kekkaishi's attacks had been on the enemy, Gen wasn't sure how much longer they could survive by staying on the defensive.

It was now that the ayakashi-hybrid had to decide what was more important to him. His place in the Night Troops or making sure his teammates came out of this alive? Needless to say that in his mind there was only one option.

"I'll distract it" Gen stated aloud, reverting to his nonchalant tone and making Tokine turn herself toward him as Yoshimori focused on holding up his kekkai. "He's mainly targeting me" Gen explained, his gaze low as he moved to stand. "It's not necessary for all of us to be putting our lives at risk. This way you'll have time to come up with a strategy together"

However, just as Gen was finishing getting up on his feet, he found himself being pushed down again. Surprised, he looked up from the ground to find the culprit to be none other than the Yukimura. He was about to demand what her deal was but she beat him to the punch before he could get a word out.

"There you go again, talking about yourself like you don't matter" she chewed out in a disgruntled tone. Her stony gaze and imposing height quickly reminding Gen that out of the two Kekkaishi Tokine was the scary one.

Noticing Gen's dumbstruck expression, Tokine narrowed her eyes. She didn't know what was going through Gen's mind right now but she was already tired of it. She had spent _weeks_ training them to understand the importance of teamwork and now, when it was _most_ crucial, they were going to fail at it? In no way or form was that acceptable to Tokine.

Yes, she understood they were all under a lot of pressure and that their ability to think rationally may have been impaired because of it. Heck, maybe even she herself was acting irrationally right now. And who could blame them for succumbing when everything around them was nothing but chaos? Yet even having considered that, Tokine just knew that _wasn't_ the real issue here.

What? Did they think that she wouldn't catch on? That she wouldn't notice the weird quirks in their behavior? Give her some credit!

All night long Tokine had seen how Yoshimori tried his best to avoid eye contact with Gen, something that was plenty abnormal on its own. Not only that but now Yoshimori was acting like if only he had the power to protect them. And Gen? Gen simply refused to listen and looked distracted most of the time. But now it was worst because now he was acting like he was the expendable one on their team. If anything _she_ was the outclassed one here.

In the end her patience had ran out. It was now painfully clear that giving her teammates space and expecting them to be mature enough to work things out on their own was a mistake on her part. It was time that she took charge of the situation again and that's precisely what she'll do.

"Look Gen, I don't know if you do it because you want someone to contradict you or because you honestly feel that way. But either way it's not healthy so it needs to stop" she commanded resolutely. The ayakashi-hybrid shifted his gaze away at the reprimand because he could not withstand having yet another person look at him with contempt for the failure he knew he was. Then he visibly flinched when he felt a hand land on top of his head, flattening out his spiked hair. Yet what came next wasn't at all what he expected.

The girl began ruffling his hair.

"Gen, you're not alone. We are teammates. Please remember that" she said affectionately while patting the top of the boy's head reassuringly. The action made Gen stare dumbfounded at the girl crouching in front of him. Upon registering that his attention was back on her, Tokine gave a closed-eyed smile as she retracted her outstretched hand and stood up straight again.

"Besides" the Yukimura continued, "All we have to do is stick together and hang on a little longer until reinforcements arrive" she said with optimism. Feeling like her deed was done she turned to stand beside Yoshimori to help with the kekkais again. Unbeknownst to her, Yoshimori had heard their entire conversation and was even beginning to second-guess all his recent actions.

Meanwhile Gen stared at the ground only to close his eyes soon afterward as they began to sting. It made his breath hitch and it felt completely unfair. Even after all the awful things he had gone through that should've hardened him up, and even though he knew the worst was yet to come, here he was breaking down. All because of a few kind words.

He brought a hand up and pressed it over his right eye, covering half of his face in the process, as he tried to regain his composure. It had been 4 years since the day he left everything behind. Yet here he was again, not having outgrown his fastidious need to have his big sister around. And that was precisely what Tokine had been for him at that moment.

The Yukimura reminded him in so many ways what it felt to have a supportive big sister. One who got angry and drilled on him when he did something wrong yet always softened up on him in the end. And always without the use of insults or namecalling.

Pathetic. Absurd. Childish. All those words served to describe how Gen felt for wanting to believe in her. To believe that everything would turn out alright. To believe that they would be able to stick together. To feel like he was finally included in something good. But…

-**You can't fall for the same tricks again. She's no better than your sister**-

'_Stop screwing with me!_' thought Gen angrily as he pulled out the egg with his left hand to glare at it. '_Can we not do this right now? I'm sick and tired of you telling me what to do!_'

-**Kind words will not make the truth go away. She'll only betray you in the end, just like the other one did**-

'_So what if she ends up hating me? So what if Yoshimori already does? I can't just let them die because of that!_' Gen defended, his grip on the egg tightening.

-**You can. Think about it. You can leave all responsibilities behind; all that is weighting you down. If only you join our side you'll be able to be free. Face it, you don't belong here**-

"I told you to shut up!" yelled Gen as he closed his fist with all his strength, crushing the egg with more force than it was necessary. For a moment there Gen remained unmoving as if shocked with what he had just done. Then, slowly, he opened his hand only to see that whatever particle remained of his tormentor was already disintegrating.

Odd. The ayakashi-hybrid thought that he would have felt relieved once he had disposed of the thing that caused him to second-guess himself all this time but… he felt nothing.

'_Guess I really am a monster after all_' he thought while brushing his hand against his uniform. '_Guess I didn't need the egg to hatch to tell me that_'

"Woohoo! Go Madarao!" cheered Yoshimori, breaking Gen out of his thoughts and back into reality. The night-trooper lifted his head and saw that the demon dogs were distracting their foe, granting the teenagers temporary relief from the rain of fire.

But Gen knew that it wouldn't hold the enemy for long. He also knew that reinforcements were not going to come. The only way they were going to come out of this alive was if they took drastic measures.

It was now or never.

"Stand back" Gen ordered as he stood up and slowly made his way to the frontlines, bypassing both Kekkaishi without meeting their gaze. He had to stay strong and looking at them would only make him falter. "I'm going to transform all the way to destroy him"

"What are you saying?" questioned Tokine looking alarmed by what the night-trooper was suggesting. "You know you can't do that" she tried again but Gen didn't seem to be listening to her. "No, stop doing that. Why do you always-"

"Just think for yourself how strong he is!" Gen countered aggressively, having lost his temper as he balled his newly transformed claws into fists. "In order to destroy a monster I have to become a monster. There's no other way!"

"Gen," Tokine started to plead but it was Yoshimori who finally countered him.

"That's wrong!"

"What's wrong?" Gen demanded as he turned sideways to glare at the Sumimura.

"You are not a monster!" Yoshimori shouted, meeting Gen's glare without hesitation. The taller teen bared his teeth menacingly, looking pissed and ready to retort but the Sumimura didn't let him. He wasn't finished.

"Who are you putting your life on the line for?" questioned Yoshimori not leaving room for the other to answer. "It's to protect others, right? A monster would never do something like that" he claimed, shaking his head as he took a step forward. "There's just no way you are a monster because I know you!"

Gen looked taken aback by the declaration; almost as in surprised the shorter teen would say something like that. And _that_ somehow made Yoshimori feel even worse, because it proved that he truly had failed to handle things the right way.

"Look, I'm sorry okay?" continued Yoshimori, his voice breaking a little. "I, I messed up. I get it. I shouldn't have run. I really didn't mean to make you feel like I was pushing you away. I-"

"Stop" cut in Gen turning his gaze downward to avoid looking at the Kekkaishi. "You said enough"

Before Yoshimori could contradict him, they heard an explosion that distracted their attention. All three defenders simultaneously lifted their heads to the direction of the sound and noticed that the demon dogs were no longer present. Not only that but Gagin, the intruder, was channeling all his power into a gigantic sphere of energy.

"What is he doing?" asked Yoshimori to which Gen scoffed as is the answer should've been obvious.

"He wants to finish us all at once" answered the night-trooper as he walked ahead. Yoshimori then questioned what Gen was doing which caused the dark teen to spare the other a fleeting glance. "You're still naïve aren't you?" Gen asked before turning his face away and crouching on one knee to get ready. '_Thank you_'

Whatever else Yoshimori wanted to say got caught on his throat when the other teen had looked at him. '_Was Shishio smiling right now?_' he asked himself while wondering why something like that made his pulse quicken.

'_I'm sorry Chief_' apologized the ayakashi-hybrid in his head while concentrating on releasing the full extent of his powers. '_In the end I couldn't obey your orders_'. And just like that he felt his demonic energy being uncapped. "Rrgh, rrRGh, aRrr, rARRRGGHH!"

The end result was monstrous. As if the fact that Gen had already displayed he could transform his hands and feet to that of a monster wasn't enough, now they were even larger and more ferocious looking. Not only that but his jaw had enlarged, and his form and skin could longer be considered human. And as if that wasn't appalling enough, Gen had more than double his height and body mass by transforming. His appearance looked closer to a wolf. A savage hellish version of one at that. If Gen had to describe what he looked like he would say that he looked, he looked-

"Man," Yoshimoshi appraised. "You look awesome"

'_Huh?_' The transformed wolf ayakashi turned his face toward the Sumimura. That wasn't at all how Gen would have put it. Yet by the approving smirk Yoshimori was giving him Gen knew that he hadn't misheard. '_He didn't even flinch when he saw me like this_'

Tokine moved a step forward before placing her hands on her hips. "You just plan to charge in by yourself?" she scrutinized, shaking her head lightly in pretend non-belief. "All to make sure that we didn't get involved?"

"There's no way you're going solo" Yoshimori stated, looking a Gen dead in the eyes and smirking as he resumed a battle stance, Tokine doing the same. "We'll definitely back you up!"

Gen didn't know how to react to that. "…Suit yourselves" he finally responded facing away before walking forward to find a good start-up position. He wasn't any less perplexed though. '_What is this? I never felt so calm in my life. When I transformed in the past I'd always got confused and so angry. Completely out of control. Why not now?_'

But what troubled Gen the most was that look Yoshimori had given him just now. There was something Gen expected to see in the Sumimura, something he already thought was there but now found that the Kekkaishi lacked.

Hate… there was no hate in his eyes.

-_Yoshimori is the most kindhearted person I ever met so that means that you can't be bad if you're his friend_-

'_Ha, of all the- To think that girl would actually be right_' Gen thought, remembering what Yurina had told that afternoon. He'd totally laugh if it didn't feel so out of place to do so.

Not a second later, Gagin launched his attack on the defenders. At that exact moment Gen shot upward, Tokine already a step ahead by providing him with kekkais to use as footholds on his climb toward the enemy. Yoshimori of course, never one to be left behind, met Gagin's attack head-on with a kekkai of his own.

What occurred afterward could only be explained as the stuff every good underdog story was made of. Yoshimori was successful in deflecting the giant energy ball, and everything else seemed to indicate the outcome would be in their favor. A storybook ending if anything.

But then an unexpected twist happened.

Just as Gen had launched what was to be the finishing blow on Gagin, another ayakashi suddenly entered the fray and stabbed the night-trooper in the back. One blade came out through his stomach, the other one directly piercing his heart.

Yoshimori could only stare paralyzed as Kaguro swung his weapons at opposite directions, slashing Gen through the middle. That's when Yoshimori's whole world stopped spinning. He didn't know how it happened. One moment Gen was falling from the sky and the next Tokine had stopped the crash with a kekkai. Yoshimori didn't even notice when the Kokubourou retreated.

"Snap out of it Yoshimori!" shouted Tokine, pulling the male Kekkaishi out of his stunned state. He quickly shook the rest of his shock away and automatically jumped onto the green kekkai to land next to Gen.

"Gen, come on Gen say something!" requested Yoshimori in panicked desperation. "Open your eyes!" he requested again making the ayakashi-hybrid's brow twitch. Seeming to listen and retransforming back into his human self, Gen managed to open his eyes halfway. "Thank God" uttered the Sumimura sounding outstandingly relieved. For a second there he had feared the worst. "You're going to be okay"

"Yo- Yoshimori" Gen wheezed, struggling for breath even though his face was disconcertingly blank. "What are you doing?"

"Shh, don't say anything" quieted the Sumimura. "If you stay here your wounds will heal"

Tokine nodded, adding that Gen should just hang in there. It was then that Yoshimori's grandfather arrived along with Hiba from the Night Troops asking what was wrong. Yoshimori explained the situation as briefly as he could; adding that Karasumori will likely take care of Gen's wounds. It was then that Hiba decided to crash their hope.

"That moron" he muttered. "Why on Earth did you two not stop him from breaking the taboo?" he questioned, pursing his lips as he studied the damage only to find that it was as he feared. "The kid won't make it"

That got an angry reaction from both Kekkaishis. "How can you say that?" burst out Yoshimori to which Tokine accompanied by stating that "If Gen hadn't transformed we wouldn't have survived!"

Hiba tsk-ed at that, already hating how quick these kids seemed to jump the gun at everything. "He's part-ayakashi but at his core he's human; more vulnerable than a real ayakashi" Hiba explained, returning his focus toward the wounded night-trooper. "That's part of the reason it's forbidden to completely transform. He endangers himself going berserk like this"

At that Yoshimori had to intervene on Gen's behalf. "No, he didn't go berserk! I watched him. He stayed in control the whole time!"

"Either way he's injured at a cellular level" continued Hiba dismissing Yoshimori's input as if he never spoke. "His wounds normally begin to heal immediately but that doesn't seem to be happening I'm afraid" he lamented, shaking his head in pity. "I had called in an emergency team as a precautionary measure but I don't know if they'll make it in time. Only a miracle can save him now"

"H-Hiba" heaved Gen, ignoring how his current teammates immediately tried to stop him from forcing himself to speak. "Tell the Chief I'm sorry I broke the ban. For not listening"

"Pft, it's not my place to make amends for you" stated Hiba as he stood up and clutched his left sleeve with his right hand. The sleeve where his left arm would have been if Gen hadn't slashed it out 4 years ago that first time the kid went berserk. Ever since that day Hiba had nothing but deep hatred for Gen. But even so that didn't mean he wanted to see the kid die. '_You did well_' he praised Gen mentally while jumping down of the kekkai to wait for the emergency team to arrive.

Gen had managed to catch sight of Hiba clutching his sleeve and recalled that event as well. '_These claws_' Gen thought. '_For once- I was able to use them- To protect someone- Instead of hurting them_'. Gen shifted his gaze to the side and caught sight of tears streaming down Yoshimori's face. '_Is he crying? Crying for me?_'

That was too much of a nice gesture to be true. He felt so undeserving.

"Yoshimori" he breathed out, no longer able to speak at a volume higher than a whisper. "Why are you bawling?"

"Shut up you jerk" the Kekkaishi retorted with no actual intention to offend as he tried to dry his face with his robe. "I'm crying because you're talking like a quitter"

Yet he could do nothing to stop the tears from coming out.

Things were just so unbearably unfair and it was too much for the Sumimura heir to handle. "I mean, why are you giving up now when there are so many things you want to do with your life?" Yoshimori reproached, stopping only to swallow a sob.

Still, his statement rang true to Gen's ears. "I wish I could apologize to my sister" Gen lamented, yet a resigned smile appeared on his face. "It's fine though, I'm content enough" he said, already feeling his remaining strength beginning to leave him.

At that last statement both Kekkaishi felt a powerful pulse of energy run through them, startling them. Even the wind seemed to pick up.

'_I know this feeling…_' Yoshimori thought, his eyes widening when he remembered from where. '_This feeling, I felt the same chill when I saw Madarao's friend accepting his death. Yes, this has the same exact feel as when Kouya disappeared_'.

Yoshimori was already experiencing something beyond distress at this point; but when he saw Gen's eyes closing he downright panicked.

"Don't!" Yoshimori yelled, planting both palms on the kekkai and leaning closer to the ayakashi-hybrid. If this was indeed like that time then that meant that Karasumori was favoring Gen right now. It was attaching itself to the night-trooper. It was using its power to grant his will! "You can't give up now! I-I still owe you something!"

Tokine, unaware of the dangerous phenomena Yoshimori realized was taking place yet sharing the same sentiment of not wanting to see her teammate lose the fight, followed Yoshimori's example by also pleading.

"Gen, don't let go!"

"Open your eyes!" begged Yoshimori again soon after. But it was no use; the ayakashi-hybrid had already accepted his fate.

'_You dummy_' thought Gen having already lost the capacity to open his eyes or to move a single inch of his body. Though to be honest Gen was unbothered by this fact. His smile still remained present even as everything else left him. '_You already paid me back by being my friend_'

"Dammit Gen! Don't go!" Yoshimori shouted, reducing himself to hysterics as he grabbed Gen's right arm with both hands and held it to his chest. "I won't let you go!"

It couldn't be. Yoshimori was losing him, he knew it. Even now the Kekkaishi couldn't help thinking back to that moment in the alley across school where everything began to fall apart. Yoshimori couldn't stop himself from wondering what would have happened if he had stayed there after breaking off their kiss instead of running away. Would they've been able to talk things out? Would their teamwork have been less affected than it was tonight? Would they been able to avoid the fact that Gen was stabbed to death?

And to think that when the night began all the Kekkaishi could think about was finding ways to avoid the night-trooper. The mere thought of it felt quite silly now when the reality of it –and this was something that he was now realizing— is that Yoshimori couldn't bear the thought of losing Gen.

'_I'd do anything to rewind time_' cried Yoshimori in his head before closing his eyes and berating himself for it. '_No, those are words of a quitter. I can't give up yet! K-Karasumori is only taking Gen away because he doesn't think it's worth it to continue living_'. Yoshimori's eyes widen at that. '_That's it! I just need to give him a reason to want to stay. But what can I say to change Shishio's mind?_'

"Gen, you can't leave yet" Yoshimori pleaded, clutching the hand on his hold tighter. The Kekkaishi was shaking as he tried to come up with something to say. Any excuse would do at this point if only to stall the inevitable. "Your job isn't finished yet. You have to help us defeat the Kokubourou, remember?"

Yet the night-trooper remained unmoved, not really trying to pay attention anymore. '_Stop calling my name_' Gen responded inwardly, his whole body starting to glow with white energy as he prepared to vanish. '_I need to sleep now_'

"And what about your family, don't you want to see them again?" Yoshimori questioned further. Gen had to give him credit for that, the Kekkaishi was really persistent, but the night-trooper had already made his peace with that subject. "And what about Tokine?"

'_Hmm_' Gen thought. It would have been nice to express to the Yukimura how much he appreciated her looking out for him. She even taught him that he could do more things besides destroying. She truly was like a big sister to him, even through the end. And the best part was that she never rejected him. '_I probably won't be able to thank her enough for that_'. It almost made him wish he could recover his ability to speak, if only to express his gratitude.

"And, and what about me?" Yoshimori continued, making Gen's mind go silent. "Don't you want to stay with me?"

'_You kidding?_' thought Gen. '_You're the best thing to happen to me. It is because of you that I regained my faith. Knowing that you never hated me was more that I could've wished for. I'm happy that I got to meet you. Hah, because of you is that I can honestly say that I have no regrets about leaving this world_'

"Look at me Gen!" Yoshimori begged, hovering closer to Gen. The Kekkaishi was getting desperate and he no longer cared what the people around him might think of him. He _needed_ to get this off his chest before it was too late. "I know how you feel about me, okay? I get it! But you have to understand that I was surprised and confused and even now I'm not sure how I feel"

Where was the Kekkaishi going with this Gen wondered. Another thing that perturbed Gen's mind was the fact that he was beginning to feel warmth coming from his right hand. This was an odd occurrence considering that Gen was sure he already had lost all sense of touch moments ago.

Tokine raised her gaze toward Yoshimori. She didn't know what the Sumimura was going on about but she did notice how the glow surrounding Gen's body faltered in its intensity for a brief second. And so she didn't dare interrupt whatever was unfolding in front of her.

"I do know something though, and that's that I'll never be able to figure it out if you leave now" Yoshimori muttered before yelling the rest. "So what's it going to be huh Gen? You really going to leave me hanging like that?"

'_Shut up_' Gen retorted, his face contorting into a grimace without him noticing. '_It's too late now for that kind of talk_'

"Do you honestly mean to tell me that you're okay with never finding out if something more could've developed?"

'_I said shut up!_' Gen screamed in his head. It was not fair for the other boy to taunt with something like that. Didn't he know that he was being plain cruel right now? No matter what the night-trooper felt about the Kekkaishi, Gen didn't appreciate people toying with his emotions like that. And that caused Karasumori to react.

Tokine felt the direction of the pulse changing and it came in near oppressing levels. Almost enough to cause harm. Like if it didn't like the fact that they were keeping the ayakashi-hybrid from moving on. Just what kind of power was this?

"If you die now I, I won't be able to take it!" Yoshimori confessed, never once stopping to catch his breath as he kept frantically spouting one thing after the other without filter.

'_Stop_'

"I'm trying to say that you're important to me damn it!"

'…'

"Does any of this have any meaning to you Gen? Any at all? I demand that you open your eyes and tell me!"

'_I can't_'

"Tell me honestly, is this really how you want things to end? Well is it, huh Gen? Say something!"

'_Stop screaming, my head aches_'

"ANSWER ME!" Yoshimori shouted with all his strength, not noticing how strings of light shot out from the ground and circled menacingly over his head. Nor did he hear when his grandfather yelled at him to get away from there. "Gen I want you to stay. I don't care if you think it's selfish or not! You got to live!"

'…'

The male Kekkaishi, feeling the fatigue finally catching up to him, dropped his forehead on top of Gen's chest, a pained cry breaking out of his sore throat because of all the screaming he had done. Tokine, who was swaying at the other side of Gen, could no longer take the suppressing aura that radiated from Karasumori and promptly fainted next to the ayakashi-hybrid. Gen's brow twitched as he felt yet another source of warmth, this time shooting from his left side.

"Do you, do you really wish to die?" Yoshimori mumbled closing his eyes just as the light of Karasumori finished enveloping all three of its defenders as if ready to swallow all of them up.

'…_no_'

**~0~0~0~**

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since Kokubourou's attack on Karasumori. Two weeks where it seemed like everything had changed yet at the same time no progress had been made. At least not on the subject that mattered to Yoshimori the most.

He could no longer bear to dwell in the privacy of his own home. At the same time that's the one place where he desperately wanted to be 24 hours a day. But he knew staying rooted on one place, one room, wouldn't do him any good. The wait and the longing alone would prove enough to drive him mad. Yoshimori also knew that his home was no longer private, though the same could be said for Tokine.

Masamori, his big brother, had finally arrived. '_Late' _Yoshimori's mind couldn't help supplying with no small amount of disdain. And with Masamori came the rest of the Night Troops; a squadron so big that it had to divide its forces into two separate units. The females of the troops made their base in the Yukimura Household. The male ones intruded the Sumimura's. Well, everyone except Hiba. Who knew where that particular night-trooper was staying at?

Yoshimori knew that he was going to be living with those guys for a while. Nonetheless he could not help feeling restless with all those people around. On top of that his _guests_ were a bunch of people with special powers. Everything from tamers, fire-starters, swordsmen, golem summoners, shadows manipulators and spell-casters. All under one roof.

All of them always staring at Yoshimori wherever he went.

It was obvious to the teen that all of them held Masamori, their leader, with high esteem. At trait that even Shishio carried. Of course, for Yoshimori, that meant that none of them were too happy with the legitimate successor of the Sumimura Clan.

As if that didn't caused enough troubles, Yoshimori could no longer train in the commodity of his own house. The Sumimura family backyard was always occupied these days and the dojo was no better either. Recently the only place he could go to get away from it all was the Priest's Grounds over the hill. There he would practice his casting techniques, the crows there being excellent targets.

Fact of the matter was that Yoshimori was Karasumori's Kekkaishi and those other people were supposedly his allies. It was true that Yoshimori had known that one day he would need help. And he knew that right now he could definitely use it. But still… these things were hard to assimilate sometimes.

Maybe it was because it wasn't _their_ help the one the teen wanted assisting Tokine and him. To Yoshimori, that position could only be filled by one person and one person alone. And he'd give anything to have that person sparring beside him again. Especially in days like these when Yoshimori needed someone he felt comfortable with to unload all his inner frustrations to.

Yet that wasn't his reality right now.

Presently he was in the middle of having some kind of practice-match. See, today as Yoshimori set off to train again on the Priest's Grounds, he'd found himself being followed by three members of the Night Troops. All around his same age. Introductions were made and soon afterward he found himself participating in a three-vs-one battle; something he quickly protested against. Yet his claims were met with laughter.

"Duh we get the advantage" proclaimed Sen Kagemiya, the blond fourteen year old of the group, sending a condescending smirk the Kekkaishi's way. "But this kind of handicap is perfect for you, right? Show us the power of a legitimate successor"

"You…" Yoshimori bit out, not liking how his title was thrown to his face right off the bat like that. He immediately tried to catch them inside a kekkai but they made themselves sparse at a speed too quick for him. '_In that case I just have to focus on taking them down one by one_'

The Kekkaishi first set his sights on the one named Dai, the thirteen year old of the group. He was the slowest one but Yoshimori quickly found out that didn't make him the easiest to catch. Yet once Yoshimori figured out that the clones Dai produced were just illusions, it didn't take long to figure out where the real one was. Needless to say that Dai was captured with close to no effort at all.

Next Yoshimori targeted the tallest one in the group, the fifteen year old named Shuu Akitsu, who tried to avoid being caught by climbing to the top of the nearest tree he could find. Yoshimori thought he had this one in the bag and casted a kekkai that encased the entire tree. Only he got the big surprise when out of nowhere Shuu sprouted what looked like batwings and soared to an unreachable distance. Though it seemed that Shuu was more worried about having ripped his jacket than the actual battle taking place.

Having lost his focus for more than a second, Yoshimori failed to notice Sen landing behind him and therefore was unable to prevent being taken in a chokehold. Sen took this opportunity to gloat while showcasing his enlarged nails that were sharper than a blade in front of the Kekkaishi's face. The problem was that they weren't pointed near any of the Sumimura's vital regions.

"Is this all you got?" questioned Sen with a victorious tone. "I expected more from the heir" he taunted. "How boring, I came all the way here for nothing. What a waste of time"

Yoshimori lowered his head; his hair obscuring his eyes though his gritted teeth did nothing to conceal his agitation. "You guys…" he murmured, slowly realizing how rapidly he was losing his temper. Even so, there was no way he was going to allow this mockery of a fight to continue. He won't accept Gen being mocked that way!

Sen darted away a nanosecond too slow and his skin got burned a little because of it; not to mention his feline nails took damage as well. Yet all he could pay attention to was the purple aura surrounding the Kekkaishi.

"Why are you here exactly?" questioned Yoshimori, slowing turning his face sideways to regard the blond night-trooper. "Did you just come to play?" he asked, his voice carrying an omnipresent quality that made it sound disjointed. Like if he was a different person. "One of your friends has fallen. Don't you understand how dangerous this place is?"

Shuu quickly flew in front of Sen and tried to appease the situation by apologizing on his group's behalf and explaining that they were really second-stringers, part of the support team, so they don't take battles as seriously as the first-stringers. It seemed to work as Yoshimori's purple aura disappeared just as quickly as it manifested, but Sen was having none of it.

"Tsk, why should we take it seriously when it's pointless?" he stated while ignoring Shuu's attempt to quiet him.

"What'd you say?" countered Yoshimori, a scowl once again marring his face.

"You heard me" Sen proceeded, not holding his words back at the minimum. "Gen went head to head with the enemy and lost. How do you expect the three of us to stand a chance?" Sen questioned rhetorically. "When he went into battle Gen was on another level. In every fight he was in the front lines. And although there isn't much of an age gap between us we could do nothing but watch from the sidelines. You probably did the same didn't you?" he sneered. "You just watched from a safe distance while _he_ risked everything. That's why now it is _you_ who is here with us and not Gen"

Sen stopped his tirade but only because Shuu tried to muffle him. Yet he was left satisfied as it seemed that his message was received loud and clear by the Kekkaishi. Gen had brought things about by himself and only Gen himself was to blame. Gen was nothing but self-centered suicidal moron with the inability to care about anything or anyone. There was no reason for anyone to feel any remorse for how things had turned out, and Sen sure as hell didn't feel it. Why would he when Gen never once took the hand of friendship extended to him?

Their practice-match ended without further incident and everyone parted their separate ways. Yoshimori understandably felt his will to train leave him and proceeded to drag his feet back to his house.

Yoshimori already knew he shouldn't have let Gen transform and fight on his own. He didn't need someone else to keep reminding him about that. What, don't they realize that what occurred that night two weeks ago was constantly haunting him in his sleep? That's precisely why he had upped his training regimen, to keep something like that from happening again!

'_But what good does that do me if the one I want to protect is not there fighting beside me?_'

A rain cloud was what accompanied the teen the rest of his way home. He was already dreading having to encounter a bunch of strangers loitering the front porch of his household but left puzzled when he saw no one there. '_Did something happened?_' he wondered and, as if having heard him, Toshimori came running out of the house and called for the teen with obvious excitement.

"Yoshimori come to my room quick!" his little brother called. "He's awake!" he urged as he entered the house again.

The legitimate heir however stayed rooted on his spot, having felt like if the ground had shaken under his shoes. '_It can't be_' he thought lowering his head and closing his hands into fists as a powerful emotion rocked his body and made him shoot forward with all the speed he could muster. The inside of the house at first seemed desolated, but as he neared Toshimori's room he could hear multiple voices gathering in one place. And it wasn't long before encountered a crowd of people congregation outside of said room.

"Excuse me!" he cried out as he pushed through the bodies blocking his way to his destination. "Coming through!" he excused but when the others didn't make space quick enough for Yoshimori he screamed his command. "Move!"

Yoshimori stumbled as he finally made it inside but righted himself before he could make a fool of himself by falling. But as he righted himself he lifted his gaze and caught sight of the one thing he wanted to see the most. '_It is true!_'

Two weeks ago something happened that no one could quite explain.

The night of the Kokubourou's attack, Yoshimori's grandfather said he saw how white light came out of Karasumori's soil and surrounded its three defenders only to disappear as quickly as it came. In Tokine's version of the story there was no white light, only this oppressing energy that threatened to suffocate them. From Hiba's point of view they were all smoking something because he saw nor felt anything out of the ordinary coming out from Karasumori. All Hiba heard was a bunch of screaming.

Yoshimori however paid no attention to Karasumori. All he knew that one minute Gen was on the verge of dying and the next he was breathing again. Gen had listened. Yoshimori had been able to reach him. Karasumori had granted them a second chance. Gen came out of it alive. Yoshimori hadn't thought that he could cry as much as he did. But then, then…

Gen didn't wake up.

Ever since that night two weeks ago Gen had been in a coma showing no signs indicating a chance of recovery. Ever since then he had stayed in Toshimori's room under the careful care of Fumiya Somegi, the night-trooper responsible for engraving the tattoos around Gen's torso to keep the ayakashi-hybrid in check. Apparently Fumiya also could engrave temporary kanjis on the skin to facilitate the healing process. And although Gen for the most part looked to be in perfect physical condition, he still hadn't woken up.

Until now.

Yoshimori stared not believing his eyes but there the other teen was, awake and upright in a sitting position on a futon. Gen wasn't wearing a shirt, as Fumiya needed to keep constant watch on the wounds, yet he was lightly bandaged across his torso with strip going across his chest. Gen was also still wearing the pants that were part of his uniform but that was mostly conceal by a light blanket.

Sitting aside from Gen was Fumiya himself, who in turn had his back to the door as he seemed to be performing the basic check-ups any doctor would do to his patient. Tokine was already there also, diligently standing aside as she let Fumiya do his thing. Even so she radiated nothing but happiness to seeing her teammate awake. Masamori of course was standing beside Tokine, being vigilant as well. But Yoshimori chose to ignore his older brother's presence. After all Masamori wasn't the reason Yoshimori had rushed here.

All four of them, however, looked Yoshimori's way the moment he entered. Although he was greeted by his brother and Tokine, Yoshimori didn't say word back to them. His eyes locked with the beastly ones on Gen and after a moment it was Gen who broke whatever trance they had been trapped in. The ayakashi-hybrid, though not saying anything himself, did signal Yoshimori to come closer by tapping a spot at the other side of him.

Yoshimori, still too bewildered with what he was seeing to give a proper reaction, wordlessly followed the request and slowly sat next to Gen. But before Yoshimori could say anything to break the awkward silence; Gen jerked his upper body to the side and pulled the Kekkaishi closer to him by wrapping his arms around the smaller teen. Yoshimori could swear that he felt his skin jolt at the sudden move. "W-What are you doing?" stuttered the Sumimura, regaining his ability to speak as he flailed his arms wildly.

To this Gen only responded by mumbling something the Kekkaishi himself had once told the ayakashi-hybrid. "Usually it is customary to return the hug to the hugger" he said monotonously even though he face was painted red in embarrassment at his own actions. Luckily, as he was currently giving his back to the door, no one could see him.

Yoshimori however wasn't as lucky as everyone could see his flustered face. The funny thing being how he found that he didn't care. Having just heard his own words being shot back at him, Yoshimori didn't hesitate in burying his face on Gen's shoulder and returning the hug just as strongly as he was receiving it.

Gen was back. That thought alone was enough to make Yoshimori's eyes sting with unshed tears as he hugged Gen even tighter, ignoring how Fumiya was exclaiming to be careful because Gen had only just recovered. But Yoshimori couldn't help it. Even though everything around him had changed in those two agonizing weeks; to the Kekkaishi the world had remained unmoving. It was like if his life couldn't move forward.

But now everything felt right again in Yoshimori's world and so it started spinning once more.

The ayakashi-hybrid ignored the warnings as well as he also buried his face on Yoshimori's hair. Having just come out of a coma, Gen was nothing if not confused. He did not know how it was possible for him to have survived. But when his eyes locked with those of Yoshimori's, eyes that carried no hate, everything made sense. And just like Gen thought it would happen that night when Yoshimori had first hugged him, the ayakashi-hybrid had a hard time letting go of the other.

Not that Yoshimori was having any better luck on that department.

Everyone who witnessed that tender moment between friends smiled a little; even though most of them were puzzled with the sight of Gen clinging to someone else. Just what the heck happened in those three months Gen'd been dispatched on the mission to make him do something so uncharacteristic? Even Masamori wore an amused smug of his face as he finished making a birdlike shikigami in order to inform Atora of the latest news.

Yes, everyone who was there found the scene rather touching and some of them cheered as they invited themselves into the room to celebrate that one of their members had pulled through.

Everyone, but a certain blond ayakashi-hybrid who stood in the doorway with an unconcealed grimace.

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N**: Okay, originally I was planning to end this chapter without the two weeks' time skip but I knew you guys would damn me to hell if I left Gen's fate at a cliffhanger. Also, I did the math and this story only has 3 more chapters to go! And yes folks, that means that I'm covering the rest of the anime. What, did you think the story was already over? Ha! This thing has only _just_ started to get interesting! Besides, with Sen finally entering the picture I can _finally_ get this GenYoshi development to roll.

Well now. As implied, the last story arc starts in the next chapter. So see ya guys then!


	9. Faltering

**A/N:** Just a quick reminder to my awesome readers, I have it as a general rule to _never_ begin writing another story without first finishing the one I'm currently working on. In other words I won't be accepting any story requests/prompts/challenges until this one is over. Please keep that in mind when pm-ing me.

Other than that, please enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_It's taking you too long to decide_

_And I don't want to be the one, the one_

_Crying over wasted time_

_If you think you're strong enough to let me in_

_Then come on, stand up and be honest, be honest_

_I'm tired of feeling so alone_

'_Cause you won't let me understand_

_I don't wanna pretend, I wanna feel, I want to love_

'_**Say You Will' by Evanescence**_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Faltering**

Preparations were being made. A large scale battle was in the vicinity and there was no time for shilly-shallying or delays. There was no place for second-guessing in the battlefield. That would only led to regrets.

Every member of the Night Troops knew this. In fact they lived by it. That's why most of them were using their downtime to meditate in order to clear their minds of all disruptions that didn't have to do with the mission at hand.

However those who couldn't concentrate enough to center their minds on only one task chose to exert their bodies instead. By working themselves out by continuously performing the most basic steps of their special techniques they were able to rid themselves of all anxieties.

Yoshimori fitted into the latter category to perfection. What with the way he tossed himself into another skirmish with the crows at the Priest Grounds, most would believe him incapable of meditation.

"Aaaaayyaa! Yayayayaya!" bellowed Yoshimori in his version of a battle cry as he rushed to the middle of field before casting a staircase of kekkais to get himself airborne at record speed. "Ketsu! Ketsu! Ketsu! Ketsu!" the Kekkaishi chanted, doing his best to capture each and every crow individually.

Encasing them all at once in a huge kekkai, although totally doable, wouldn't show any indications of his prowess. If anything, Yoshimori needed to advance to the next level. He _needed_ to start challenging himself more thoroughly.

'_Damn, I missed one_' Yoshimori berated inwardly before allowing a smirk to show on his face. This just meant he had an opportunity to try something else. "Agh, damn crows!" the teen cursed as the crows started swarming around him and pelting him. "I'm not about to let the likes of you get the best of me!"

And so he charged forward.

Although this, by all counts, definitely was an unorthodox way to center his mind through physical exhaustion; Yoshimori was no doubt preparing himself for the fight ahead. Yep, everyone who was partaking in the guarding of Karasumori were readying themselves while Gen, well, he just sat there.

On the ground.

By himself.

Waiting.

Because his 'cells' were still damaged and in the process of a tantalizingly slow recovery, Gen was _strongly_ advised against doing any kind of extraneous physical activity until further notice. This of course provided the ayakashi-hybrid with virtually nothing to distract himself with.

Meditating could've been an option if it wasn't for the fact that everywhere he went he inevitably bumped into another night-trooper.

They say that nothing beats the feeling of being back home after a long retreat. As nostalgic as it may sound, Gen never thought to discredit that notion. And with the whole Night Troops division now stationed in both Kekkaishi's households, it literally felt to Gen like he was back home.

And that was precisely the problem.

Initially the teen had been elated upon learning that the Chief and the rest of the crew would be here to stay until the mission was accomplished. It eased his mind to know that he would now be surrounded by people he knew and was familiar with. Yet ironically it was that very piece of knowledge that placed his whole being on edge only minutes later. Or to be more precise, the minute he stepped out of the room he was being nursed in.

Everywhere he went, at every room he entered, he would sense it. The brief change in the atmosphere.

It was quick, it was done craftily, and it was made in a way that veiled any meaning behind it. It would have gone unperceived by anyone who wasn't already accustomed to being at the end of it most of their life. Yet for someone like Gen the telltale signs were almost impossible to overlook.

The ayakashi-hybrid could spot it in the way every occupant in the room went silent the moment they became aware of his presence. Most of them, although clearly sensing him, wouldn't look his way and continued chatting with each other barely a second later as if they hadn't noticed him at all. Some of them speaking in quieter voices.

This happened almost religiously in each and every room he went in. And as soon as he departed he could feel their stares burrowing into the back of his neck. It was like he was the big elephant in the room that nobody wanted to address. The worst part being that they were probably doing this subconsciously.

Not ten minutes after leaving his room and Gen was generously reminded of the fact that he never really had a place within this group. It was clear as day that even though he considered the Night Troops to be his home, he wasn't missed. Never welcomed.

Shunned.

The longer Gen stayed in the Sumimura Household, the more the feeling of being spurned caught up with him. Anywhere he moved the atmosphere reeked of tension. Basic instincts commanded him to flee and at first he tried to do just that by escaping to the roof of the building where more likely than not he wouldn't be bothered. However he quickly got himself reprimanded when attempting such a feat because of the strain such action would cause on his body.

And the tense atmosphere got worst then. Almost hostile.

Now no one hid the fact that they were keeping a watch on him. In fact they openly stared with eyes that held a muffled form of accusation in them for his disregard. Eyes that berated Gen for doing something so shameful as trying to ditch his colleagues even though they themselves did nothing that indicated any willingness of including Gen in their ragged bunch.

Eyes that the ayakashi-hybrid had always hated being regarded with.

Clearly nothing had changed in the months Gen had been away. He felt caged with no way out. Hiding in the Yukimura Household was out of the question because (1) only girls were supposed to be stationed there and (2) he doubted the atmosphere would be much different there.

Fleeing toward his apartment was always an option except for the fact that it was currently occupied by Atora; the one woman who had complete control over him. Honestly, the last thing a caged teen would want is to willingly head toward someone who had so much power over the freedom of his actions.

Just as Gen was about to give up on finding a way out, one greeted him and walked right pass him as if completely unaware of the tension built up in the atmosphere while commenting about going outside for training. And Gen, without uttering a word, followed after the Sumimura heir as if one would do a guiding light.

And here he was, sitting with his legs folded pretzel style on the Priest's Grounds, quietly observing as Yoshimori pushed himself harder to gain another level. Eyes trailing after a boy Gen faintly remembered promising that they would figure out their relationship together if the ayakashi-hybrid survived. A boy that had basically avoided broaching the subject by always delving into mundane topics of conversation.

Gen tried not to think about the last one. He himself didn't count with the self-confidence needed to approach the subject. Possible rejection being something he had never fared well with. So Instead Gen just observed. Simply that. Besides, there was no use in making a big deal out of it. Right?

…don't answer.

'_He missed again_' Gen analyzed as he paid closer attention to Yoshimori's movements. The night-trooper's mind already set on shoving aside his dilemma in order to focus on reviewing the steps needed to battle efficiently.

'_First step is to attack quickly. If you hesitate at all or try to hold back, you're through. Second step is to watch the enemy's movements closely. One must never underestimate an opponent so it's important to watch their movements carefully as it is hard to tell when the enemy is about to strike. The third step is enlightenment. One must discard all distractions because if you only focus on what you see then you're bound to miss something_'

To be perfectly honest this was probably the first time Gen ever paid attention to Yoshimori's movements. Before Gen only focused on the kekkais being casted and not on the Kekkaishi himself. Yet to be fair Gen never had a reason to do so before. In fact their whole team dynamic worked on the two Kekkaishis being the ones who had to observe Gen movements, not the other way around.

Because of this the ayakashi-hybrid was beginning to notice something that had never crossed his mind.

'_This guy follows all the steps needed to fight efficiently but somehow his accuracy is always off. But why? Someone with his battle experience shouldn't have problems with something so basic as kekkai placement_'. As Gen dwelled on this puzzling detail he witnessed as a crow pecked Yoshimori in the back of his head and how the Sumimura instantly tried to fend it off with his left hand.

Unfortunately the action made Yoshimori lose his footing and fall from high up. He hit the ground with a heavy impact that made the ayakashi-hybrid wince a little. Even so something about that episode got the gears in Gen's brain turning.

"Owww" Yoshimori whined as he detached his face from the ground, spitting the grass in his mouth in the process. Lifting his gaze the Kekkaishi deadpanned when he realized he'd crash-landed right in front of the night-trooper. Said teen look unfazed as he stoically regarded the Kekkaishi but Yoshimori already knew him well enough to know that the other teen was just itching to criticize his performance. '_And why wouldn't he?_' Yoshimori grumbled not having hit his head hard enough to forget his 'spectacular' fall.

"Well?" Yoshimori goaded impassively, returning what he knew to be a judging stare with equal fervor. He wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later. "Say something"

Yet what Gen commented on wasn't anywhere near of what the shorter teen was expecting to hear.

"Were you originally left-handed?"

"…Eh?"

"Your left, whenever something you're not prepare for happens you always react with your left hand first" Gen stated dully, but upon observing that the Kekkaishi still wasn't registering what the night-trooper was implying, the darker teen went with a more direct approach. "Try casting a kekkai with your left"

"My left" Yoshimori mumbled as he stood up while he wondered why the taller teen was suggesting something so random. The Kekkaishi spotted another crow flying in the far distance and went with it. "Ketsu!" he chanted and watched as he confined it inside a perfectly sized kekkai. "…Huh?" his jaw dropped. "That worked a lot better than usual!" he exclaimed fascinated by his work.

"I don't get it" Gen interrupted the aweing by voicing his inner musings. "If you were born left-handed, why didn't you do it that way from the start?"

At this Yoshimori's gaze immediately went to his right hand, where the Houin mark laid perfectly hidden beneath white bandages.

"Grandpa" Yoshimori grumbled as he began flexing his hand, staring at it with a narrowed gaze. "He taught me to do it this way. Said that it was only right for a legitimate successor to be right-handed. Gave me hell until I practically did every with my right hand. I couldn't even brush my teeth with the left" he muttered that last part to himself with clear show of distaste.

Yoshimori spared a few more begrudging thoughts toward his grandfather before turning his face to meet the ayakashi-hybrid; only to find out that the other teen was still staring intently at him. They kept their gazes locked with each other as the silence dragged on until Yoshimori started sweating bullets. '_Gah!_' he shouted inwardly while facing away. '_This was a lot less awkward when Shishio was the one that couldn't hold anyone's gaze!_'

The Sumimura would like nothing more than to say that this was the first time they were stuck in this song and dance but the truth was that this was quickly becoming a pattern. And it happened _every time_ they hit a roadblock in their conversation.

Whenever silence ensued between them Yoshimori would automatically think back to that night when he thought he was going to lose Gen for good. Inevitably that also brought forth all the embarrassing things the Kekkaishi shouted at Gen to try to keep him alive. Specifically the one about giving them a chance to figure out what he felt for the ayakashi-hybrid.

Yoshimori hadn't the slightest clue of what he had been thinking when he said something like that. But the fact remained that he did and he couldn't take those words back. Just thinking about it made his face heat up every time.

He had acknowledged Gen's feelings toward him and basically used it as leverage to get the other teen to stay. What was worst was that Yoshimori could very well tell every time he looked into Gen's eyes that the night-trooper was also reliving that moment as well.

It wasn't that Yoshimori was deliberately trying to avoid bringing up that subject in conversation; it's just that… well okay, he _was_ avoiding having said conversation. But can you blame him? If anything that night at Karasumori opened Yoshimori's eyes to the fact that he didn't want to be the one to bring pain to Gen. The ayakashi-hybrid didn't deserve to be hurt again and Yoshimori felt obliged to do everything to keep harm from Gen's way.

The fact that he made the same exact self-imposed vow toward Tokine five years ago when she got wounded from protecting him was something that had yet to register in the Sumimura's mind.

What did register though was how relieved he felt upon Gen waking up from his coma and how right their reunion had felt at the time. They had smiled at each other after they hugged. If only that feeling would've lasted. But no. The moment both came down from their elation and locked gazes again the events that transcended at Karasumori became all too real. The awkward silence that followed was broken when Gen tried to speak only for Yoshimori to panic suddenly while quickly finding an excuse to get out of the room.

Ever since then Gen had not tried to broach the subject. Ever since then Yoshimori felt worst every time conversation died without it being approached. But what could he do? Not only was he nervous about bringing it up but he had _no freaking clue_ what he was supposed to say.

Did that make him a horrible person?

…again, don't answer.

So in the end Yoshimori came to one conclusion alone. If the problem only came up when they were quiet around one another then all he had to do was keep the situation from spiraling south by never shutting up. True, he wasn't solving anything by doing that but at least this way wouldn't make the other teen feel like Yoshimori was pushing him away.

'_Yep, all I have to do is keep the conversation going while avoiding bringing Karasumori up. Can't be that hard_'

"Here" the Kekkaishi said, extending his hand to help the other stand up. "I think that's about enough training for one day, don't you agree?"

Gen nonchalantly shrugged as an answer but took the hand offered to him regardless. Right after Yoshimori hoisted the other up he remembered something that struck his curiosity.

"W-What are you doing?" asked Gen a little apprehensively as the Kekkaishi turned their joined hands in a way that made it so that they were pressing their palms against one another. Even though Gen was sort of becoming accustomed to Yoshimori pulling these small yet unpredictable stunts, it did nothing to appease his inhibitions. Or his hormones for that matter.

The ayakashi-hybrid tried to keep his face straight with a mask of indifference, not wanting to give his inner turmoil away. Unfortunately he could do little to stop his body's efforts on concentrating only in the heat radiating from where the skins of their palms were groping, err, touching. '_Damn it, fucking get it together already!_'

Yoshimori of course was oblivious to this as he focused all his attention on measuring his hand against the other's. He noticed that although they had about the same sized hands, Gen's hands were a tad thicker. Still, he didn't get what the big deal was.

"Well" Yoshimori started, still keeping his gaze fixed on their hands as he elaborated. "Madarao once mentioned that we both had big hands so I shouldn't be disappointed. And yeah, I know I was the one who said you shouldn't take anything he says seriously but, you know, it still nags me what he meant by it"

If Gen was feeling uneasy before, now he was downright stupefied. He openly gawked at the Sumimura with widen eyes while wondering if this seriously came out of the Kekkaishi's mouth. Upon feeling eyes on him Yoshimori retuned the gaze. This of course caused the ayakashi-hybrid to promptly turn his face away, breaking eye-contact in the process. Nonetheless Yoshimori took notice of the uncharacteristic blush that spread across the night-trooper's face. '_What's up with that?_' he wondered.

Gaze effectively averted, Gen rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand in a nervous manner as he tried to come up with an explanation. "Uh well you, um, know how that saying goes right?" he questioned, avoiding the other's gaze at all cost while failing to come up with a better way word what he wanted to say. "About how if a guy has big hands and feet then he must also have ah, you know…"

'_Shit_', Gen, for the life of him, couldn't finish that sentence and he desperately hoped for the love of all things good in this world that Yoshimori understood what he meant without making him vocalize it explicitly.

At first Yoshimori seemed to be just as lost as he was in the beginning. Regretfully though, because Gen was so busy avoiding the other's gaze, he missed the priceless moment when everything clicked inside Yoshimori's mind. What Gen did notice however, was the cold caused by the Kekkaishi retracting his hand from his.

Quickly reacting to the lack of warmth, the night-trooper scanned ahead only to sweatdrop when he spotted the Kekkaishi down on his hands and knees looking like he wanted to bury his head in the ground.

'_Gah, what's wrong with me?_' Yoshimori yelled in his head as he frantically tried to make sense of what just happened. '_Idiot, idiot, idiot! I practically walked right into that one!_' So much for avoiding traveling down that road. '_But wait_', in a clear lapse of judgment the Kekkaishi had acknowledged that Gen had thicker fingers than him, so that must mean that- '_Crap, what am I thinking!_'

While Yoshimori was busy having his quiet meltdowns, Gen was battling a few inappropriate thoughts of his own. To be honest the ayakashi-hybrid had never particularly contemplated the idea of being, um, 'well endowed' down there. But now that the Sumimura brought the subject to light, he couldn't exactly keep the thought from plaguing his mind.

Did he carry a—how to say it—'sizeable equipment'? It never occurred to him that he might. He guessed he _did_ count with bigger hands than the average teen his age. But then again so did Yoshimori even though he was a tad on the short side. Did that mean that Yoshimori was also 'meatier' than most?

Gen shook his head as a highly inappropriate image of Yoshimori was conjured by his brain. '_Great, now I'm picturing him naked_' the night-trooper grumbled inwardly. This was _not_ helping his case at all. He gritted his teeth as he unsuccessfully tried to discard the image from his head. He needed to distract himself and he needed it fast.

So crouching on the ground he placed a hand on the other's shoulder to call Yoshimori's attention. Gen wasn't counting on the other teen whirling around so fast that the ayakashi-hybrid had to reel his head back to evade what could had been a painful skull collision.

…Yet now he wasn't sure if what resulted instead was any better.

The exasperated Sumimura was trying to collect himself but no matter what he did it just seemed to make the situation worst. While trying to calm the accelerated beats of his heart he had completely forgotten that he had an audience until he felt a weight land on his shoulder. Alarmed he rapidly spun around to excuse his behavior but the words died in his throat the moment he met with Gen's face up close.

Both teens seemed to freeze at the same time. Their faces were so near each other that their noses almost bumped.

Yoshimori was completely aware of this yet he did nothing to pull away. Instead he locked eyes with Gen, the surprise in his face clearly mimicking his own. A chill ran down the Kekkaishi's spine as he realized that if either of them leaned forward the tiniest bit they most certainly would be close enough for a repeat performance. He did not want to want this and yet somehow Yoshimori remained immobile even though his instincts were screaming at him to hurry the fuck up and pull away.

If Gen thought he was flustered before then now his face must had been flushing a new shade of red. Even so it did not escape him that Yoshimori wasn't that far in the department as he was also sporting a heavy shade of red. Yet before he could try to figure out what this could possibly mean he heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping.

Just like that both teens leapt away from each other and waited with baited breath for their new company to reveal itself. Wasn't long until Masamori's mug came into view as he finished climbing the remaining steps toward the teens.

"Ah, Yoshimori, Gen, so you were here together after all" Masamori accredited, his rich looming voice carrying a familiar spec of mirth that never failed to irk Yoshimori for some reason.

Gen however paid little attention to the new arrival, instead preferring to try catching Yoshimori's gaze once more. Nonetheless it was rapidly becoming obvious that this was a vain attempt as Yoshimori seemed resolute in no longer acknowledging his presence. It seemed that whatever could've happened before the interruption, be it good or bad, was destined to be yet another one of those moments that would forever float on their heads without neither party being comfortable enough to bring it up again.

Who knows, maybe it was better this way. At least now Gen wouldn't have to hear Yoshimori excuse it by saying that he was just 'caught in the moment' or something equally crushing. This way Gen could at least cling to the flimsy possibility that Yoshimori would had reciprocated his feelings had the ayakashi-hybrid advanced, no matter how unlikely that turnout was.

"I'll head back" stated Gen blankly as he turned on his feet and proceeded to walk pass the Chief only to be stalled by Masamori placing a halting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there, what's the hurry Gen?" Masamori joked lightheartedly but he soon lost his mirth when he saw how the ayakashi-hybrid refused to look his way. This made Masamori sigh. '_Might as well do it now_' he thought. After all they did say that there was no better time than the present.

"Look Gen, about Fumiya's assessment earlier. Since you're still in the healing process and we're still not sure what kind of strain the use of your powers might cause to your body, I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to sit this mission out, at least temporarily. You understand, hmm?" Masamori decreed, even going as far as giving the teen what was meant to be a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before releasing it from his grasp.

Gen said nothing though, only offering a slight nod before continuing on his way.

Masamori frowned a little at this. Normally accustomed to having his subordinate vying for his attention, the elder Sumimura couldn't help finding it odd—if not concerning—for Gen to be so hasty in making his retreat. But Masamori guessed it couldn't be helped. He _had _basically just benched the ayakashi-hybrid after all. But in the end it was for the best. That's why Masamori didn't feel bad about withholding information either.

"So why are you here?" interjected Yoshimori, breaking his brother from his musings. "Gonna give me another lecture?"

'_Ah yes, almost forgot about this one_' Masamori thought as he turned toward his younger brother; the real reason Masamori was even here of all places. Unlike the previous teen, this one never held much reverence for the leader of the Night Troops. That's precisely why the twenty-one year old considered it important to assert his authority now and not wait until the night creped in.

Regarding Yoshimori with an air of superiority, Masamori laid down the rules of their temporary alliance. "The Intelligence Squad has informed me that the Kokubourou will target Karasumori tonight. The Night Troops are taking lead in the battle so I can't allow you to wander off on your own. You _will_ follow my orders" he said, furrowing his eyebrows together while stressing the last part to show how unrelenting he was on the matter.

Yoshimori narrowed his eyes at that one and Masamori half-expected him to scoff childishly. Instead the 21 year old ended raising up his eyebrows when Yoshimori dejectedly sat down while muttering a "Yeah, I know"

Well tickle him surprised; this was unexpected.

"That's it? Hmm, you're being obedient today" Masamori commented while rubbing his chin in a pensive manner. It was almost comical how stumped he looked. It shouldn't have been this easy. Therefore Masamori concluded that he was missing something. "What's up?"

"Nothing's up" Yoshimori spat out like it was a hassle to try explain himself. "Just sick and tired of worrying about every little thing. Anyway, I'll listen to what you say this time around" he declared. Yet when he noticed that Masamori was still giving him an appraising look, Yoshimori tried to divert the focus. "So, uh, does Shishio know about the attack?"

Efforts successful, Masamori's eyes left him to concentrate on something behind the younger Kekkaishi. "I don't believe that's something Gen should be worrying about in his current condition" Masamori stated sparing no small amount of aloofness in his answer.

Yoshimori quietly nodded at this, now more certain than before on what he had to do. He stood up to leave toward home. However Masamori did not miss the determined expression the younger Sumimura wore as he bypassed him and that's when it finally clicked in Masamori's mind what was going on.

"Listen Yoshimori" he commanded, stopping the other in his tracks. "Kaguro is not the only enemy we have. Don't forget that your first priority as the legitimate heir is to protect Karasumori" he stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

All Masamori got as a response was a wordless groan of annoyance and the sounds of a ticked off Yoshimori marching down the temple's steps.

**~0~0~0~**

Returning to the Sumimura household had been a bad idea on Gen's part; proven solely by the lack of stares he received upon setting foot on its front yard.

'_Great, first they point at me like I'm some kind of demented freak and now they pretend I don't even exist!_' At this point everything agitated Gen. He wanted nothing more than to drive his knuckles through the wall to get them to look at him. But really, what would that solved? '_Fine then, if they want to deny me so much then I'll humor them by making myself scarce!_'

Needless to say that by now Gen was beyond aggravated. All this time his one purpose in life had been to be able to return to his family—not that he outright said it. Yet with no word from them in 4 years he had inadvertently already given up on that.

Throughout those years what basically kept him alive was his job. Something he was currently uncertain of ever getting the green light to do again now that he had officially been declared unable to do battle. And if that wasn't enough of a blow already, the _one person_ that kept him from tossing his life away didn't want to be around him.

It left Gen feeling isolated, useless, aggravated, confused, hurt, unwanted and most of all, lost… which only served to anger him more.

Why was he even alive in the first place? It would have been that much easier to have died. Then he wouldn't have to deal with all the repercussions of his actions. Heck, maybe he would have been missed a little if he was gone. Gen briefly wondered if his family, out of guilt, would've cared enough to hold a funeral for him.

'_Stop it_' Gen growled to himself. His hands were hovering at either side of his head, one move shy of actually gripping it, as he tried to compose himself.

For a moment there he'd sounded so much like the demon egg that it borderline scared him. He needed to keep his suicidal thoughts in check. '_Stop blowing things overboard_' he berated himself. Letting out a huff of air, Gen straightened his stance and lowered his hands; still a little shaky. Right now he stood outside the Sumimura gates which also happened to be right in front of the Yukimura residence.

The ayakashi-hybrid had almost completely forgotten about the Yukimura. Sure, they haven't exactly sought each other before and Gen had no recollection of them ever holding a conversation outside of work. But then again it's not like she had ever avoided him either.

So Gen stood there, eyes trained on the Yukimura residence. He didn't know why he just stood there as if waiting for something to happen. His mind already supplying him with about a dozen reasons of why he shouldn't bother. Self-depreciating thoughts that almost felt like if Gen still had the demon egg with him.

And oh how Gen hated that particular tendency he had of putting himself down before even trying. He wanted to prove himself better than that. He had changed! He could do this! His life still had a reason! All he need was to ignore that aching knot in his stomach and take one leap of faith. So shoving his clammy hands in his pockets, Gen prepared himself to take a step forward and-

"Well well, look who decided to grace us with is presence"

…failed.

Turning his head slightly to the side he spotted none other than Sen and Shuu standing behind him. The former undoubtedly the one responsible for the blatantly sarcastic greeting.

"What? Got nothing back to say to us?" Sen questioned, lips curving into something that looked almost too annoyed to be considered a smile. Though it needed no interpretation as the irritation mingled in his voice suffice enough to tell of his mood. And God how it irked the blond when the ever unfazed teen remained quiet.

'_There he goes again, acting like he is that much superior than us_' Sen sneered in his head. The blond had no doubt that because Gen now hung with Heirs to a Clan that the wolf-based ayakashi-hybrid's ego must have multiplied.

But this was good. In fact Sen welcomed it because it only proved that he was right all along. Unlike the others, Sen wasn't moved by the hug Gen and Yoshimori shared upon the former waking from a coma. Sen wasn't so easily deceived. He was smarter than that because he knew exactly who Gen was.

Gen was a loner who pushed people away. He cared for no one. You didn't get to live with a guy for 4 years without learning that at least. People walked on eggshells around him and frankly speaking Sen was tired of it. That's why Sen didn't feel the least bit guilty about doing what he came to do.

With a smirk that bordered on sadistic, Sen raised his chin before delivering his blow.

"Did you know there were bets going on about how long you would last alone at Karasumori before going berserk and getting yourself dismissed from the mission?" Sen said, quietly enjoying Gen's shoulders tensed for a short second while simultaneously turning his face completely away from them. No matter how minuscule the action was, it showed Sen that his words were indeed having the desired impact.

But of course then Shuu had to be a killjoy and intervene.

"Everyone lost by the way" Shuu hastily chimed in with an uneasy smile. "You outlasted everyone's predictions"

The bat-ayakashi-hybrid didn't have to turn his head to know that Sen was glaring daggers at his skull. Shuu gulped and squinted his eyes further. He knew that he shouldn't get in the middle of this. In fact Shuu would be the first to admit that being around Gen made him nervous. The dark teen had always been quick to anger and violence. That was why he and most of his friends avoided interacting with Gen in general. They didn't want to antagonize him, which was pretty much what Sen was deliberately doing now.

In short Shuu didn't want to be here but at the same time knew things could get ugly if he left. So he braved it for his friend's sake. That and sometimes Shuu couldn't help the fact that he was such a peacemaker.

Sen however didn't see his friend's actions as being a 'peacemaker'. He saw it as being a coward. Ever since the Shoki incident it seemed that everyone in his age group had avoided direct confrontation with Gen. It was sickeningly pathetic and Sen refused to follow that unspoken rule any longer. He won't be deterred until he drove his point home. And no, the fact that Gen was theoretically crippled now played no factor in why Sen chose now of all times to make his stance on the matter.

"Technically he _did_ go berserk" Sen pointed out, his left eyebrow twitching none too gently.

"But he didn't get discharged and that was the whole point of the bet wasn't it?" Shuu interjected, again unable to keep himself from butting in. Only this time Sen was expecting it, hence the self-satisfied smirk he was already wearing. When the blond spoke, although his eyes were trained on Shuu, his words were solely directed at Gen.

"What, haven't you heard?" he asked in pseudo-perplexity. "The Chief already removed Gen from the mission. Practically everyone has been talking about it all morning. In fact it's all they been talki- mphngh- _stop that already_!" Sen hissed as he finally was able to shove Shuu's hand away from trying to muffle him.

"You didn't have to be so cruel about it" Shuu hissed back though he didn't try another move on the blond.

Sen was about to shoot back with a defensive remark of his own but stopped when he noticed Gen shifting with the corner of his eye.

With his back still to them, Gen bowed his head downward, unable to confront them directly. "It's nice…" Gen muttered, "seeing you two again, after so long I mean" he finished before darting away hurriedly, partially because he was embarrassed it took him so long to come up with something to say.

"D-D-Don't walk away!" Sen sputtered indignantly, face flustered at the unexpected response he got from the fleeing ayakashi-hybrid. Yet it came too late as Gen was already out of hearing range.

"Nice going" Shuu berated in a pouting manner, crossing his arms over his chest. "You couldn't just say 'hello' could you?"

"Shut up!" rebuked Sen, glaring at the taller teen. "You think he actually cared about anything we said?" Sen stated and it was clear it wasn't a question. "I bet he just said that to infuriate us. He didn't mean it! We're nothing but a big joke to him!" Sen declared, unwilling to be deceived.

He was _supposed_ to feel a sense of righteousness at the end of this so _why_ was it confusion the only thing he felt instead?

**~0~0~0~**

Tokine had just been finishing hooking up the laundry wires—her mother taking advantage of the fact that she was housing girls to get all the house chores done—when she spotted Gen standing just outside her gates.

Not having spoken to him since he recovered from his coma, Tokine spared no time in carrying the rest of the laundry baskets out before venturing toward the front entrance. She was curious about her teammate's condition and wanted to make sure he was holding up alright. However when she opened her gates she stumbled onto two teens she briefly recognized as members of the Night Troops but no sign of Gen.

"Um…" she started, glancing sideways once more in case she missed spotting her target at first glance. "Excuse me, but did any of you happen to catch where Gen went by any chance?"

"Well nice to meet you too!" Sen retorted before scampering off in a foul mood.

Tokine blinked taken aback by the strong reaction he received while Shuu chuckled nervously as he tugged the scarf away from his neck. "Please excuse my friend. He's kinda having a bad day" he amended. "Sen's normally better at making first impressions, heh heh. I'm Shuu by the way" he added once he saw Tokine nod.

"Oh, ah, nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Tokine, 22nd legitimate successor of the Yukimura Clan. Yeah, I know" Shuu interrupted before quickly realizing by the look she gave him that that may have come off a bit stalker-ish. "I-I mean not only me, everyone in the Night Troops know who you guys are. That's what I meant!" Shuu amended, not really sure if that sounded any better.

Fortunately Tokine nodded again in understanding before restating her earlier question about Gen's whereabouts. When Shuu shook his head not knowing the other teen's current location, Tokine sighed and decided she might as well get back to her chores.

Upon closing the gates, she only took three steps inward before hearing someone call after her. She looked backwards and then lifted her gaze when she saw the teen she just met earlier soaring in the air before landing gently on top of her fence.

Were those batwings she just saw?

Turning her full body around, she ignored what Shuu was saying about offering to help out since he had nothing better to do and went straight to the question in mind.

"Are you an ayakashi-hybrid too?" she asked and only after the fact did she realized that might have sounded rude. Shuu however did not look offended though he raised his eyebrows. The fact that his eyes remained squinted did not escape the Yukimura.

"Well yeah, what about it?" Shuu asked looking confused by the question. "Almost 1/6 of the Night Troops are ayakashi-hybrids by the way" he informed.

'_What?_' Tokine thought. This sure was news to her. "But Gen" she sputtered. Suddenly things didn't make much sense to her. If it was true that Gen wasn't the only ayakashi-hybrid in the Night Troops then why did he act like he was such a monster. She wanted to know but instead found herself asking something else. "Do all of you have that tattoo that keeps you from transforming?"

This time Shuu made no effort to conceal his confusion at the randomness of the question. But almost seamlessly his face turned into one of enthusiastic realization. "Oh I get it!" he exclaimed while crouching on the fence to shorten the height difference between them. "Gen never told you about the different types of ayakashi-hybrid, right?"

"Different types?" Tokine repeated, prompting Shuu to elaborate more. This was the first time she heard of this.

"Yeah" Shuu affirmed, seemingly pleased that he was being useful for something. "You see there are two types of ayakashi-hybridation. The first ones are the parasitic types. They are the ones that can only change a part of their bodies. Like for example…"

Shuu tapped his right cheek with his index finger as he tried to come up with good ones. "Like Sen for example, he's my friend from earlier. He can make this really awesome feline claws extend from his fingers. Oh and Hiba, you know Hiba! He's a plant-based ayakashi-hybrid that can make all these types of poisonous vines come out from where his left arm used to be" Shuu explained, cringing sheepishly afterward while hoping no one else heard him use the latter as an example. Hiba certainly wouldn't be happy with anyone talking about his arm.

Tokine slowly nodded as she digested the information she received and even without Shuu saying it she already guessed that her teammate didn't fit that category. "And Gen?" she questioned, hesitating only for one beat.

"Aaa.." Shuu paused while tugging his scarf for a second time, a quirk that Tokine quickly recognized as a nervous gesture. It must mean that this subject made the night-trooper uncomfortable. "Gen is a unified type, the other kind of ayakashi-hybrid. They are, aaah, rarer than the parasitic type because they can transform their entire body but-"

"But full transformations are prohibited" Tokine finished, able to put two and two together. When Shuu nodded it all started making sense to Tokine again. Full transformation meant going berserk which by the same coin meant not having control of one's actions. That by default made Gen out to be a volatile if not dangerous addition to any team. If so then Tokine could empathize with why Gen felt shunned even among other ayakashi-hybrids.

"As you might already know, the Shadow Organization is a place where special people not chosen to be the heir of their clans congregate" Shuu said, feeling the need to continue explaining. "But even among the Shadow Organization there are those who are considered to be too different. The Chief made the Night Troops so that all of us outcasts can have a place to band together. That's why everybody in the Night Troops looks up to him, even Gen" Shuu added before looking ashamed for what he was going to reveal next. "But even among outcasts I guess we made Gen feel a tad too different"

Tokine initially looked like she wanted to scold him for that last revelation but held herself back only because Shuu genuinely sounded somewhat regretful in that admission. Still, she was glad she got to learn more on the subject and only wished she had made a bigger effort in trying to befriend Gen. Yet what's past is past and she could only focus on the future.

But first the present.

"So does that mean that you're a parasitic type also?" Tokine asked although she presumed she already knew the answer. She was _not_ expecting to hear what came out of the boy's mouth though.

"Nope, I'm also a unified type" he stated with a cheery smile.

"What?" Tokine muttered barely above whisper. Okay, now she was back to square one where nothing made sense again. "But you seem friendly" she said rather unintelligently by her standards; yet she didn't know how else to explain it.

Shuu, taking a guess to what prompted such a muddled response, chuckled a bit. "Yeah I'm a unified type but I'm different from Gen so the guys aren't afraid of me. In fact to them I'm harmless for the most part" he conveyed.

Tokine could only stare at him scrutinizingly before giving up on figuring it out by herself. "How so?" she questioned, not toning down her scrutiny though. The Yukimura did not miss the way Shuu automatically started tugging on his scarf again.

"Well, errr, even though I can go berserk just like Gen if I fully transform I uh… _Gosh how can I put it_?" he mumbled to himself looking more and more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. "Okay, you know how Gen gets bloodthirsty when he transforms right?" he asked and waited until Tokine gave him an uncertain nod before continuing. "Well I ah, um, get a different kind of bloodlust…"

'_A different kind of bloodlust?_' Tokine clearly did not understand what the bat-based ayakashi-hybrid meant by that. Even so she couldn't help noticing the light blush coloring the top half of his cheeks the moment he mentioned that. Before she could get another word out though, Shuu was already excusing himself while jumping backwards to the other side of the fence, probably to land on the Sumimura's part of the property.

No longer having the other teen within her sights, Tokine stood there alone for another minute before turning back to her house with only one thought in mind.

'_Why are all boys so weird around me?_'

**~0~0~0~**

When Yoshimori arrived at his house he was quick to note the lack of a certain ayakashi-hybrid's presence. He didn't know how to feel about that.

For one he felt disappointed because he wouldn't be able to spend the remainder of his day hanging out with Gen. On the other hand he kinda felt relieved for the very same reason. Resting his back against a wall inside one of the halls of his home, the Kekkaishi pondered if that made him a bad friend.

He tried hard not to dwell on that thought butt he couldn't deny that he felt awful about chickening out and basically ignoring Gen the moment his older brother showed up.

But what was Yoshimori supposed to do? Being around the ayakashi-hybrid confused the heck out of him. And after what had so shamelessly ran through his head when they accidently got within kissing distance, the Kekkaishi doubted he could've faced the other teen without his face flushing in embarrassment.

Yoshimori belatedly realized that he had frozen yet again. Just like the last two times something like this went down between them. Sure, nothing actually _happened_ this time around but it still ended with one of them running away without the other one stopping him.

'_God how are we even still friends?_' Yoshimori shrieked in his head. If anything their history together evidenced just how dysfunctional their relationship was. They practically messed things up on regular bases that it was a wonder why they weren't at each other's throats already. Heck at this point Yoshimori even hated himself.

'_What does Shishio even like about me anyways?_' he wondered as he lethargically let himself slide down against the wall he was leaning on, only to halfheartedly realize that he was actually resting against a sliding door. '_Wait what am I saying? I should be thinking about how to win Tokine over!_'

The Kekkaishi, although begrudgingly so, admitted to himself that he wasn't exactly the tallest kid in his grade. '_Maybe I should give spiking up my hair a try?_' he half snorted half considered. And although he would like to believe that he at least had the dark and handsome departments covered, he had to concede to the fact that his desk for some reason hadn't exactly been filled with chocolates on Valentine's Day.

When it came to the brain's department well, let's just say that he didn't get praised for it as often as he thought he deserved. '_Bah, talk about depressing_'. He wasn't helping his situation at all with these kinds of thoughts; so deciding that this was getting old too quick, Yoshimori focused instead on the qualities he had going for him.

Like being an heir to a clan for example.

"Pfft" Yoshimori scoffed at that insinuation, following it up with a dry chuckle. That felt more like a freaking ball and chain than a privilege if you asked him. Not to mention that lately it was being used against him far too frequently for his liking. '_What's with everyone shoving that title to my face and thinking it gives them the right to boss me around?_'

Yes he was still slightly pissed with Masamori's last comment to him.

He thumped the back of his head against the door in an exasperated manner because of the general unfairness of his situation. He about had it with everything. All that was left was for his grandpa to come and chew him out for whatever insignificant reason. It sucked ass and Yoshimori wanted nothing more than for everyone to disappear for a moment. He needed a break!

After letting out a tired sigh at the general fruitlessness of his most recent mental activity—and recognizing that all he achieved was to go in circles without making any progress as far as his circumstances with Gen were concerned—Yoshimori closed his eyes and tried to give himself a minute to relax. It was only then that he picked up on the fact that he could hear voices at the other side of the sliding door.

Whoever were at the other side of the room, members of the Night Troops no doubt, seemed to be heavily engaged in a discussion regarding Gen's status within the group. Specifically his future in the Night Troops, or lack of future if one was to be more accurate.

Usually Yoshimori wasn't one to eavesdrop on someone else's conversations unless it involved Tokine in some way. But when he heard the tact of disdain accompanying Gen's name being brought up it seemed like the rest of his senses automatically dulled in order to sharpen his hearing. And ultimately Yoshimori could not pull himself away.

The Kekkaishi heard how two—maybe three?—men argued about Gen breaking the ban twice on the same mission even though he had been warned of his probation. One of voices argued that it was an emergency situation while the other two disagreed by saying that it was a matter of a disobedient runt jumping at any excuse to disobey orders at the risk of other people's safety.

They seemed adamant to the idea of punishing such rash behavior, even going as far as stating that they would lose respect for their Chief if he threaded lightly on the matter. Apparently they didn't take well to Masamori showing favoritism by being lenient.

But that wasn't what stuck with Yoshimori.

What bothered Yoshimori was that while they spoke about what was fair and wasn't, they seemed bent on completely disregarding the fact that Gen almost died for the sake of the mission. They wanted to penalize him instead of commending him for protecting Karasumori by getting rid of him even though they were the ones who failed to show up on time. And all because Gen broke some heinously unwarranted rule? What kind of justification was that?

Yoshimori wasn't aware of his scowl but he was glaring menacingly at an empty spot in front of him while his hands clenched into fists. He was in the process of standing up and stomping away when a sardonic laugh involuntarily kept him rooted on his feet.

Apparently now they were joking on how this was probably Gen's last mission and of how they wished they had been there to see the look on Gen's face when the Chief told the teen to sit this mission out. They sounded pleased and willing to take it as an indication that Gen's days in the Night Troops were numbered.

If they had left it at that then Yoshimori would have gone on his way fuming. Instead they had to take it farther by joking about something that not only froze the Kekkaishi, but conjured up all sorts of terrifying emotions that haunted Yoshimori like only a nightmare could.

–_Hey,_– the voice had started, seeming to echo inside Yoshimori's head. –_Maybe if we're lucky those ayakashi might do us a favor and finish what they started by paying the runt a visit while everybody's at the site!_–

No matter how distasteful the statement, it was clear that it was only meant to be taken as a joke. Yet to the Kekkaishi, instead of mirth, it reawakened the trauma from barely two weeks ago.

You see with everything that had tormented Yoshimori's mind lately, be it a need for revenge or traitorous hormonal drama, he had never once considered that Gen might potentially still be in danger. That one ayakashi named Kaguro had mentioned something about trying to recruit Gen to their side. The fact that Gen was delivered a lethal blow attested the fact that Gen had rejected the offer. But what's to say they wouldn't try it again?

Yoshimori didn't even want to think about it. He just, he just, '_I just-_'

By now Yoshimori's entire frame was shaking. It seemed that all his troubles, combined with all his previous worries and confusions stacked together with all his responsibilities and people's expectation of him, were finally taking a toll on his teenage body. He was far too overwhelmed and he needed and outlet to released everything that was penting up inside of him.

Finding no other way to do so, Yoshimori did the next best thing.

Griping his head and bowing forward, the teen screamed at the top of his lungs, startling everyone in and near his house in the process. Multiple stunned faces revealed themselves through newly opened doors in the halls, most throwing curious glances at the Sumimura. Yoshimori instantly felt his face heating up in embarrassment; completely aware that this hadn't been what most would call his brightest moment. Stammering out an unintelligible excuse, the Kekkaishi quickly exited to his room.

Little did he know that his random outburst had rekindled the interest of a certain blond ayakashi-hybrid.

Ever since the most recent episode with Gen, the night-trooper known as Sen Kagemiya had been trying to make sense of the absurdities that dared challenged everything he thought he knew. Sen was convinced that he was in the right, he wasn't the enemy here. '_Though apparently I'm the only voice of reason_' he sneered inwardly. Sen still couldn't believe that Shuu had taken Gen's side earlier as if the blond had been in the wrong.

What, did everyone decide to conveniently forget just _who_ the one with the problem was?

'_Gen's the one who doesn't do friendship and doesn't cooperate! Why else was he assigned a separate apartment all to himself when he could had stayed at Hakota's mother's house like Hiba does?_' It was clear as day to Sen that Gen was the selfish one. Gen was the one who didn't care about others. So why waste the effort in trying to sympathize with him? '_Shuu is seriously deluding himself if he thinks that Gen is suddenly going to change just because he spent a few months away_'

People like Gen who don't give a fuck about the world don't change overnight. Of that Sen was certain. So why was Gen now pretending to be something he's not?

And then there was that idiot of a legitimate heir, acting like he was best buddies with Gen. Did Yoshimori honestly not see Gen for what he was? Did the Sumimura honestly think that he was worth something to Gen beyond a way to complete the mission? Maybe the Kekkaishi himself wasn't all right in the head either. His random scream just now certainly attested to that theory.

Sen couldn't tell, but he somehow knew that the answers he needed laid upon keeping a closer watch on the Sumimura. Therefore Sen managed to talk himself into following after Yoshimori during the night. Maybe by observing him Sen would be able to figure out just _what_ made the Kekkaishi believe that he'd be any different from anybody else.

**~0~0~0~**

"Yoshimori what's eating you?" whined out Madarao after his fifth attempt at riling the teen up crashed and burned unsatisfactorily.

Sure, Madarao could understand being grumpy. Who wouldn't be when about every sixteen meters or so of Karasumori's ground was littered with a different member of the Night Troops. It was understandable if his master felt that they were basically usurping his role and shoving him aside so that the 'professionals' could handle it. But _come on_, enough with the brooding!

The dog was all for it when the Kekkaishi had been throwing tantrums a few nights ago, but tonight's silent treatment wasn't nearly as entertaining. And considering that this was practically Madarao's sole hanging spot; was it that_ wrong_ for him to crave attention?

No such thing was given though.

"Aaagh, you don't have to be such a downer!" complained Madarao to the unresponsive teen. "Fine then, be that way. See if I care" the dog claimed while raising his nose with an indignant 'hmp'. "Come Hakubi, we're obviously not wanted here" he commanded before hightailing out of there in order to find some other way to entertain himself.

Hakubi, as accustomed, simply rolled his eyes before excusing himself to Tokine before trailing after the white demon dog if only to keep Madarao from rambling to his lone self.

Yoshimori barely even noticed their departure.

Tokine however was a different story. She too was feeling slightly inadequate tonight and perhaps that was why she'd lingered around the other Kekkaishi instead of patrolling by herself like she usually did. She knew that if she got to hear at least one of Yoshimori's confident boasts tonight that she would be able to plow on through. Yet so far Yoshimori had been nothing but quiet. Almost like if he was somehow disconnected to the world around him.

Thinking of herself silly for having such irrelevant notions as if her counterpart was capable of such depth, Tokine tried her hand at striking up some sort of conversation on her own as they waited for the enemy fleet to arrive.

"Don't wallow Yoshimori" she said, walking to stand beside the Sumimura and giving him a light nudge on his shoulder with her staff to wake him from his stupor. "With everyone's support I'm sure we'll do alright" she assured, providing a pep-talk to both him and herself.

Proving yet again that he could never completely ignore Tokine, the Sumimura gave a noncommittal grunt before walking a few steps forward as he pulled his staff out from the straps on his back to hold it vertically in front of him.

Silence reigned again as Yoshimori seemed to lose that momentary alertness he had displayed. Tokine was beginning to get concerned by this but before she could voice any worry Yoshimori began to speak.

"That night can't happen, not ever again" he stated. It sounded so much like a murmur that the Yukimura even began to wonder if he was talking to himself aloud instead. Even so Yoshimori continued; his words now clearer and unrushed.

"I won't let anything happen to Gen again. I'll end everything tonight" he explained, adding more conviction to his voice before lowering his staff and making his way toward one of the rooftops on the school.

Tokine stayed behind, unable to follow.

Even though she couldn't see Yoshimori's face when he spoke, she could easily imagine him looking serious about his statement. This shook her a little. The conviction in the way he had spoken sounded an awful lot like that of someone making an oath. An oddly familiar one she realized, not being able to stop herself from becoming suddenly self-aware of the purple linen that covered the back of her right hand and arm.

More specifically her marred skin.

One night 5 years ago Yoshimori had made the fatal mistake of not finishing off an ayakashi by showing it compassion. That very night Tokine got wounded while saving Yoshimori from that very ayakashi; the never fading scar on her hand being testament to that. Ever since that night Yoshimori had vowed to never let harm come her way again.

She wasn't sure if the Sumimura was aware that she knew of said vow even though he made it so obvious by his actions that only a blind man wouldn't be able to notice. For the very same reason she was tempted to presume that Yoshimori probably wasn't aware that he made that same exact vow yet again. This time toward Gen.

Tokine didn't know what it meant or how to feel about it but it didn't change the fact that it deeply worried her. Before and because of the oath he had made about protecting her, Yoshimori had made some dangerously stupid decisions and placed himself in plenty of tight spots and close calls. Therefore Tokine had tried her best to knock that idea out of his head by proving again and again that she could take care of herself and that he didn't need to be pulling all these unnecessary stunts.

Unfortunately all her efforts seemed to be fruitless as Yoshimori proved to be way too stubborn to see reason. Because of this she didn't want to begin considering what new kinds of irrational perils Yoshimori would subject himself to if he felt the need to safeguard yet another person at his own risk.

That last line of thought is what suddenly rang alarm bells inside her head.

'_Wait, what did he mean by ending everything tonight?_'

**~0~0~0~**

It was 1:42am in the night and Gen Shishio couldn't sleep. Lying face upward on his futon with the sheets underneath him, Gen stared at the ceiling as he contemplated, not for the first time, all the reasons why he was still alive. Admittedly there wasn't much; and for the most part he was kinda disillusioned with the ones he thought he had.

Why was it that nothing ever played out even remotely close to how he wanted them? Was he really that undeserving of happiness?

Already having been dismissed from the mission the ayakashi-hybrid knew that his future within the Night Troops was uncertain, no matter how much Atora tried to hint otherwise. Atora herself, after having tried to suffocate him with her chest even before he had set foot in the apartment, didn't exactly sound sure about his future either.

She _did_ try to hide it by pestering him nonstop with all the plans she had instored for him once they returned to their home-base after the Karasumori mission was over tough. However, even though Gen had been generally preoccupied with trying his best to escape her clutches, he did not miss the uncertainty in her beasts' mannerism as she spoke of his future. Gen had long ago learned that although Atora was good at not giving anything away while speaking, the beasts she tamed were not. And they always gave away her moods.

The thing was that he himself wasn't sure that he wanted to return to their base. His encounter with Sen and Shuu this afternoon had made it perfectly clear he wasn't exactly well regarded there. In truth Gen knew he had only himself to blame for that. It was his fault for being too different. It wasn't their fault that he was unmanageable. That he never fitted in.

Gen had naively thought that he could turn it around and make a new start with them by making a greater effort to fit in but that idea was immediately shut down by Sen's words. They were no doubt laughing at him after Gen made his swift retreat. '_I deserved it_' the teen thought with resignation. The fact that there were things Gen knew he could never make right slightly angered him. Yet in his mind he had no right to be angry because he was convinced he had no one to blame but himself.

But to be honest the true reason he wasn't sure about going back wasn't any of the above mentioned.

Already aggravated with his own defeatist way of thinking, Gen snarled to himself as he sat up only to fully stand moments later as he made his way out of his room toward the kitchen. He needed to sleep but those depressing thoughts obstinately kept him from it.

The teen figured that a glass of water might help in drowsing him up so he headed to the fridge. However just as he was about to open the fridge, a package on the kitchen counter next to the sink caught his attention. He vaguely remembered Atora mentioning something about a kid dropping it for him but having been previously busy with evading Atora and her spontaneous glomps, Gen had forgotten all about it.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Gen quickly forgot about getting a glass of water and moved to pick up the rectangular box. Ripping the carton away after only a moment of hesitation, the teen pulled its contents out and got confused when it turned out to be a frame. Turning it around to see what was on the other side, he froze when he recognize what it was.

It was a picture himself with Tokine, Yoshimori and his little brother, Toshimori. The picture was from the day when they all walked together from one pastry shop to another. On the left stood Yoshimori with Toshimori in front of him, both grinning to the camera. On the right stood Tokine, leaning toward the middle and also sporting a smile of her own. On the middle of course stood Gen himself looking at the camera with a surprised expression.

Quickly inspecting the box again, his eyes zeroed in on Toshimori's signature before returning them to stare at the picture again.

'_So it was the kid who sent this to me_'

Clutching the picture frame at the sides with both hands in a tight grip, Gen closed his eyes firmly shut and brazed himself against the counter as a slight tremble quaked his body. For 4 years Gen had made due without any personal possessions weighting him down. His completely barren apartment evidenced this. The reason behind this being that he never really allowed himself to care much about anything before. He was less probable to become hurt that way.

Subsequently things had changed ever since he began his stay near Karasumori. Within his stay Gen had unwillingly allowed his walls to be taken down and little by little he began to care about the small things. Things like working in a team, like being greeted by the people that knew him, like doing things outside of work… like having friends.

That's why it was inevitable that after viewing it for only three short seconds the picture in his hands became his most prized possession. Cherished because in one frame it contained everything Gen cared the most about.

Yes, believe it or not Gen didn't want to leave for other reasons. '_Selfish reasons_' he chided himself. Yet it was true. No matter how Gen tried to spin it, his happiest memories were of that day when he finally realized that he had been accepted within a close knit group of friends.

That also was the day he realized that he indeed was in love with Yoshimori; only that the ayakashi-hybrid had been too scare to accept it at the time.

'_Damn it, why am I always so afraid to say what I feel?_' he questioned himself as he opened his eyes to stare at the picture again. Right now Gen was going through what was probably the most miserable day of his life and he realized that it was mostly self-inflicted.

All because he'd been too scared to approach the other night-troopers after receiving the initial cold shoulder! All because he couldn't fucking turn around and confront Sen and Shuu face to face like any normal person would have done! All because his severe fear of rejection kept him from bringing up his feelings for the Sumimura heir a second time!

"All because I'm a fucking coward" Gen reprimanded through gritted teeth as he ran his right hand through his hair with the purpose of calming himself down. Deeming it humanly impossible to do so as long as he remained within four walls, Gen gently placed the picture down and walked to his balcony. It was small but at least it allowed him to get some fresh air.

Minutes ticked by until Gen finally felt composed enough to give sleep another attempt. Besides it probably wasn't wise of him to remain outside barefooted in the cold breeze with only a yellow t-shirt and gray pajama pants. At least not while he was supposed to be in the process of 'recovering'.

However as fate would have it, just as Gen was about to turn around to walk back to his room, the scent of an ayakashi caught his attention. The teen immediately looked up to see a black cloud fleeing a top speed from the direction the school was supposed to be at.

'_Did the Kokubourou attacked again?_' Gen questioned in alarm; but before he could figure out what to do with himself, a voice was already shouting his name.

"Gen quick, take my hand!"

The ayakashi-hybrid only got like a second to register it was Tokine who called his name before he found himself being pulled behind her by the wrist to mount on what seemed to a winged seahorse ayakashi.

"Hold on to me tight!" ordered Tokine, using her nenshi skill as a leash around the ayakashi's neck to command it to fly after the fleeing cloud. A leash that she ruthlessly pulled tighter to briefly choke said ayakashi when it complained about the extra weight being added on its back. The Yukimura, true to her fashion, showed no compassion to those who opposed her.

Gen had no choice but to wrap his arms around Tokine's waist for fear that she would do the same to him if he didn't follow orders. "W-What's going on?" Gen managed to stammer out. At the same time he was gruelingly trying to forget that for all of the times she had ruffled his hair, _he_ had never been the one to initiate any physical contact with the girl. Needless to say that he felt completely awkward with his current position.

Tokine however didn't miss a beat when answering. "That stupid little dimwit let himself get caught on purpose. I can't believe Yoshimori would do something so reckless!" she admonished, clearly exasperated with her counterpart's behavior. Nevertheless it was hard to tell if she was angry because of what he did or because he did it without her. "We can't let him go alone or who knows what he'll do!"

What Tokine didn't mention was that according to what she heard from Hakubi and Madarao, the Kokubourou kidnapped another person as well. Probably someone from the Night Troops. If that was true then it was probably Yoshimori's fault it happened. If so then the Sumimura was definitely getting a _talking to_ when she caught up with him.

Gen on the other hand was trapped in a crossroad otherwise known as indecision.

By the looks of it they were rushing to the world of the Kokubourou. Tokine, in her hurry, must had made the impromptu decision to have Gen tag along when she spotted him by chance. Otherwise Gen doubted that he would be where he was at this moment. It also dawned on him that the Yukimura probably wasn't aware that he had been forbidden from using his powers until further notice.

So now Gen had to pick between two different roads.

The first and _smart _choice would be to tell Tokine of his diagnosis and have her go without him. The second choice, also the _dumb_ one, would be to withhold that information and hope for the best. Yet the choice wasn't as simple as it seemed. The stakes were too high.

Considering that Yoshimori was probably being taken to the heart of the enemy base… there was a chance he might never come back. If that happened then Gen wouldn't know what to do. That would mean losing the chance to confront Yoshimori about his feelings. Not to mention the incredible guilt that would undoubtedly consume the ayakashi-hybrid if something happened to the Kekkaishi while he did nothing.

In the end it was nothing more than another test to Gen's bravery and his disposition to take charge and actually do something about it. And factoring the wreak his day had been so far, Gen was done with letting every opportunity slip him by. He was done with letting his insecurities dictate his life. '_I'm done with being a coward!_'

And so, clenching his jaw while securing his hold on the Yukimura, Gen went with the second road.

**~0~0~0~**

**A/N:** Heck yeah, I went there! Haha. So yeah, let's recapitulate. The manga had only Yoshimori and Sen going to the Kokubourou. The anime included Tokine to the mix. This is something that I personally loved because it paved the perfect entry for me to have all of them (Yoshimori, Sen, Tokine & Gen) go there in my fiction. Why all four you ask? Well because I could of course! Not to mention that it also spices up the plot heavily.

**Fun Trivia:** In chapter 298 of the manga it was revealed that Yoshimori was born left-handed but his Grandfather forced him into casting his kekkais with the right hand instead. The only reason for this being that it looked more proper to battle with the hand where the Houin mark appeared. Yes, it had everything to do with appearance and nothing with casting efficiency.

**Fun Trivia 2:** Those who read past manga chapter 235 should already know about Shuu's special kind of "bloodlust". For those who don't know, don't worry. I'll be sure to reveal it in the last chapter. All you need to know is that I'm a bit of a ShuuTokine shipper.

Okay, only two more chapters to go! Next chapter is kinda the climatic one so expect it to be epic. Oh, and for the Sen fans, don't worry. He redeems himself in the next chapter. I ain't a hater.


	10. The Never Changing

**A/N:** Finished writing this a week ago. Had difficulty separating the time I needed to proofread this. Gonna be busy the rest of the month. Couldn't postpone this any longer. Please excuse any grammar errors you find (or point them out to me, it helps). I promise to go over this chapter again and fix it up later.

Okay, so this chapter is a tad lengthier than the rest. But that's because I basically compiled the last 8 episodes of the anime into a sole chapter without making it look rushed. What can I say? I didn't want to stop writing until I finished the anime arc. I wanted that to be already over with so I could focus properly on the epilogue.

Anyways this may initially look like a "Sen Chapter" but I promise that it's so much more. Also I'm proud to deliver the Tokine/Gen bonding time that the manga failed to administer to us. And of course the promised GenYoshi.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

* * *

_I'll hold your hand when you are feeling mad at me  
Yeah when the monsters they won't go and  
your windows won't close  
I'll pretend to see what you see_

...

_You know it's funny how freedom can make us feel contained  
Yeah when the muscles in our legs aren't used to all the walking,  
I know if you could snap both your fingers that you'd escape with me  
But in the meantime, I'll just wait here and listen to you when you speak... or scream_

...

_And every day that you want to change, that you want to change, yeah  
I'll help you see it through 'cause I just really want to be with you._  
...

'_**Waste' by Foster the People**_

* * *

**Chapter 10: The Never Changing**

**x-x-** (Flashback) **-x-x**

_One night after dinner Sen had felt restless. To tire himself out the blond ayakashi-hybrid decided to take a stroll late in the dark across their base camp. He wasn't necessarily worried about walking alone; after all only a fool would attack the Night Troops Headquarters. Likewise, he wasn't at all surprised to stumble on the sight of Gen bleeding in the middle of an alley while doing so._

_Sen however halted his stroll to give the other teen a courtegious glance. Looking heavily bruised up with the right part of his shirt is tatters, Sen would admit to having seen Gen in better shape than the one he was currently displaying._

"_Do you want me to call the medics?" asked Sen being polite, but by the monotonous tone of his voice anyone could tell that he wasn't exactly moved by what he was witnessing._

"_N-No" refused Gen with difficulty as he leaned against the wall for support as his legs were beginning to buckle under his own weight. Anyone could tell that Gen was having a hard time breathing even if the battered teen was unwilling to acknowledge it. "I just need to rest for a while" he excused._

_The blond took two steps closer as he inconspicuously tried to get a better glimpse of the gash Gen was trying to hide. A small frown tugged the left side of Sen's bottom lip because of what he saw. "A normal person would've died from those wounds" he commented as Gen started to cough blood, though the brunet tried covering his mouth with his hand to minimize the red evidence being spilled. _

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

Just out of the portal Tokine and Gen found themselves freefalling on rocky yet desolated grounds. Although the female Kekkaishi immediately reacted by casting a kekkai to smooth down their landing, Gen winced in pain upon contact with the ground.

This however went unnoticed by the Yukimura and Gen quickly righted himself intending to conceal it further.

"Is that the Kokubourou?" questioned Tokine aloud to no one in particular as she gazed at a castle in a far away distance. Although she wasn't complaining about getting a free ride to enemy territory, she wasn't exactly thrilled to have been dropped so far from their goal. Still, she would admit that from this distance she could at least calculate the sheer size of the castle. And it was _huge_.

Even so she wasn't here for a scenery tour.

"What's that?" she questioned again when she noticed the displaced ripples in the space. '_It feels like the entire dimension is falling apart_'. Getting perturbed by the increasing occurrence of the ripples, Tokine, with a slight hint of urgency, directed her next sentence toward the night-trooper. "This world is unstable. We better hurry"

Gen nonverbally coincided with her point by nodding and leaping toward the castle with Tokine following in tow. Silently he hoped that their stay would be the least bloody as possible.

**x-x-** (Flashback #2) **-x-x**

"_I did my job" stated Gen impassively once he got his coughing under control. "… don't tell anyone about this" he commanded forcefully. However, because of the state he was in, Sen hardly found it menacing._

"_What's the deal with you?" Sen inquired without raising his voice. He had already decided long ago that Gen simply wasn't worth it. "Do you think you can't die or something?"_

_Gen stayed quiet for a long time and Sen was beginning to think that the wounded teen wasn't going to answer until-_

"…_fighting is the only thing I'm good for."_

_Sen blinked once before nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders. "Oh well, suit yourself" he responded uncaringly before walking away like this was nothing, only a daily routine._

_Yet in his head he was seething._

'_Who does he think he is? He's such a show-off! But fine by me if he wants to bleed to death! Just know that that's one funeral I won't be attending.'_

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

Yoshimori had been freed by Heisuke Matsudo after promising to stay away from an ayakashi leader named Byaku. Subsequently Yoshimori stumbled upon a female ayakashi that curiously enough didn't exude any evil, plus looked like she had lots of class. Like a princess or something.

He momentarily wondered why he felt that such a title should had rang a few warning bells but couldn't quite make the connection. Instead Yoshimori had been more focused on how endless the castle seemed to be. '_Doesn't this place have an elevator?_'

Even so the Kekkaishi couldn't help noticing that after his brief encounter with the princessy ayakashi he somehow knew the landscape of the castle; even which path to take in order to get to where Sen was. The Sumimura could only presume that it was some innate talent that suddenly manifested in him.

"Man I really am amazing" boasted Yoshimori aloud after having rescued Sen from the dungeon. The ayakashi-hybrid however didn't feel all that compelled to feed that ego.

"You don't have to act like the big hero" he argued. "I can see you're pretty beaten up already. What, do you think you can't die or something?" Sen asked only to have his eyes widen a nanosecond after uttering it. '_Why did I suddenly get a weird sense of déjà vu because of that?_' he questioned himself.

Yoshimori shrugged off the other's sudden silence as he tried concentrating on where they should move next. "I think we go this way" he voiced. However further instructions were interrupted as they heard strange noises approaching from the hall the Kekkaishi had just pointed at. Soon afterward the sounds where replaced by a stampede of bug-type ayakashis retreating from something that was happening at the other side of the castle.

And that's when Sen started screaming.

The Sumimura summoned a kekkai to shield them from the bug stampede as they passed by yet Sen was still freaking out just as much. The blond night-trooper had literally been reduced to encircling his arms around Yoshimori's neck in a choking manner while hysterically expressing his hate for "creepy crawly things" along an incessant mantra of "gross, gross, gross!"

Waiting it out, Yoshimori deadpanned throughout the entire display. That is until Sen professed that he was beginning to feel sick which made the Kekkaishi urgently cast a kekkai below them and have it stretch vertically to lift them to another floor because there was _no way_ he was having someone's puke all over him.

Once landing upon a bug-less floor and with the impending chaos successfully avoided, Sen detached himself from the other teen and plopped down to the wooden floor with a hand clutching his mouth.

"Hey, are you okay?' asked Yoshimori deactivating the kekkai while waiting for the other to pull himself together. A moment of awkward silence passed with Yoshimori being ignored before the Kekkaishi couldn't help himself from voicing an innocent observation. "You know, you're kinda like a little girl"

Somehow Yoshimori should've known that his little comment wasn't going to be favorably received because the reaction had been immediate.

"Yikes!" yelped the Sumimura falling backwards while clutching his bleeding forehead. "You stabbed me!" he exclaimed with mild disbelieve.

"Don't you dare call me girly ever again!" Sen threatened, his sharp nail poised for another attack. "Unless you want another one"

Yoshimori automatically raised his hands in surrender, although not without muttering to himself how the other teen didn't have to get so mad about it. It wasn't like the Kekkaishi had voiced that with any ill intention. He was just making an observation. '_An observation!_'

Sen however turned his back to the Sumimura. He, although flustered, was overridden more so by anger. Here he was after having to be rescued from a dungeon like some freaking princess and now he made an even bigger fool of himself by crying over bugs! Why was the world so unfair to him?

"Why did you come for me when I'm such a burden?" Sen questioned in frustration. In his head there was already no doubt that he was already viewed as incompetent by the other.

Said question though only served to confuse Yoshimori. "Why not?" he asked, scratching his head. "Isn't it normal to save a friend?"

"No it's not!" exclaimed/declared Sen resolutely which startled Yoshimori. "And by the way I never said that we were friends"

**x-x-** (Flashback #3) **-x-x**

_It was closing to three years since Gen had joined the Night Troops and everyone who was around his age or younger were already wary of him. Sen was no exception._

_Barely thirteen and Gen was already pulling physical stunts with an ease that even the older teens couldn't. Yet instead of being impressed, most kids took it as a warning to stay even further away from the wolf-type ayakashi-hybrid. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of such power._

_You see, when Gen had first joined the Night Troops the younger generation wasn't told of the circumstances that led to his admission. They only knew that he had trouble controlling his powers and that Atora was in charge of training him. Yet as time went by a rumor starting circulating that the real reason Gen was here was because he went berserk and tried to kill his family in coldblooded murder._

_It was just a rumor started by the older kids and Sen for the most part ignored it. Sure, Sen was already biased against Gen but that was for personal reasons. Primarily the blond just hated how Gen never seemed to care about anything or about what anyone thought of him even though he continued showing off on every mission assigned to them. If anything to Sen the other teen could only be described as the world's biggest hypocrite._

_But today, just a week after Sen had also turned thirteen, Gen had challenged Shoki into a duel for his rank within the Organization. That sparked the interest of many because Shoki possessed a rank that allowed him to go on solo missions. So far Gen, like the rest of the members his age, were only given group missions for three or more._

_And so everybody the age sixteen or younger crowded together to watch the match._

…_It was over in less than five minutes with Gen being the clear victor. Shoki however didn't take his loss with stride and started to verbally assault Gen—calling him a monster and, when that didn't have the desired effect, going as far as bringing up the rumor about how Gen had tried to kill his sister._

_That was the first time Sen had seen Gen go berserk on somebody to the point of almost fully transforming. It took four of the older teens to hold him down until Atora arrived to command complete stillness from Gen. That was also the last day any of the kids his age or younger ever spoke to him._

_Most of them, if not all of them, feared saying something that might unleash Gen's temper on them. Sen didn't blame them as he was also shaken by the incident. Even so Sen refused to cower and show weakness. He soon become the only one in his age group still capable of looking at Gen in the eyes, even though the other teen started averting his gaze from pretty much everyone after losing his control so publicly._

_Clearly a sign of his cowardness at being judged. And so whenever the other kids needed to relay a message to Gen, they mostly approached Sen so that the blond would deliver it instead._

_But make no mistake. Even though Sen didn't cut the communication lines between him and Gen, the blond never again extended his hand in friendship._

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

It took sometime before Tokine and Gen were able to set foot in the castle but once inside they simply did not know where to start searching. The place was massive! And as if that wasn't enough it had multiple floors.

Gen had tried tracking Yoshimori's scent but so far no trace of it. Guess his sense of smell wasn't _that_ superior as he was unable to catch anything long-distanced. Nevertheless routing the place was better than standing clueless and waiting for something to happen so Tokine chose a direction and off they went. One thing was for certain in her mind though. And that was that when she finds Yoshimori she was going to smack him upside the head for putting them in this mess in the first place.

On a side note, the Yukimura did take notice of the fact that Gen hadn't taken off on his own like he usually did under these kinds of circumstances. However she didn't get a chance to ponder on that as they soon came across a visibly short ayakashi in human skin. This made both teenagers stop on their tracks.

The ayakashi, after questioning how the teens infiltrated the castle only to get an intentionally vague reply from the female Kekkaishi, was quick to get agitated.

"What nerve!" he spat. "But that impudent attitude won't last for long. You'll soon see what happens to those who dare bring filth into my castle!"

"Your castle?" reputed Gen, his fists ready to sprint forward and strike at the slightest of provocations. "The leader of this castle is you?" he growled.

The ayakashi in human skin didn't look all too fazed with the level of aggression directed his way. Probably accustomed to dealing with hotheads. Instead he just hummed as he cleaned his glasses before answering. "I'm the keeper of this castle" he explained, sounding mighty proud of his proclamation. "My name is Koshu, I'm responsible for maintaining the beauty of this structure"

Gen was about to voice his retort but Tokine stopped him with a hand on his shoulder—the last part of Koshu's statement catching her attention.

"If you're the keeper as you say then that means you know where the Kekkaishi that was taken hostage is being held" she inferred. This made Gen unclench his fists slightly as the thought of interrogating the enemy hadn't occurred to him until now.

"Pff, of course I know where the Kekkaishi is held captive" Koshu blurted as if offended that someone would think that he didn't. "But I'm not going to divulge it"

"Oh well" she waved, fixing Koshu a belittling gaze, "Then I will just have to find him on my own" she said while casually walking away. This not only confused Gen but the enemy as well.

"Hey comeback here!" commanded Koshu not liking the condescending way he had been dismissed. It felt like the girl was demeaning him as inconsequential. Angry, the ayakashi began shedding its human skin and transforming into an enormous octopus-like-demon. "We're not fini-"

Koshu never got to finish his sentence as next thing they knew a five layered kekkai surrounded its head and blasted it out of existence.

"That's what you get for bothering me after I spared you" stated Tokine before parting. "Come on Gen, we can't afford to lose time in this unstable dimension"

As for Gen he just stood there watching the headless body crumbling away before turning his face to stare at the retreating girl. It was now blatantly obvious that he wasn't the only one feeling stressed over being here _but damn_. That girl was ruthless.

Strangely enough, Gen found it somewhat comforting to be around someone who clearly did not care what others thought of her methods of doing things.

If only he could be like that.

**x-x-** (Flashback #4) **-x-x**

_This was yet another one of those missions where six of the Night Troops' younger members were tasked with eliminating a monster. It should had been an easy task since prior intel on the monster terrorizing the rocky mountain division that led to the neighboring town classified it as having low intelligence. The success of the mission was only a matter of cornering it before taking it down._

_It should've been easy. But it wasn't._

_The monster turned out to be a three-headed eel-type ayakashi with the ability to grow in size the more injured it got. It was terribly violent too. Shuu had been unlucky enough to get hit by the enemy and was now gushing blood from the right side of his face._

_Even more unfortunate the scent of blood triggered something in the monster that made Shuu its primary target from then on. Sen, who was then partnered with Shuu, jumped in front of his teammate as the enemy launched itself toward him._

_There was no doubt in either of their minds that they wouldn't come out unscathed from this. But then, in the last second, and although Sen never asked for it, Gen came into the fray and tore down the enemy like it was nothing._

_Sen stood stunned at the sight. Here he was, readying himself to take the blunt of the attack, and Gen just came in with all the confidence in the world, jumping in on every chance he had to strike the target without holding back._

_No… Gen probably purposely waited until the very last second just so that he could show off!_

"_Easy," Gen muttered aloud, wiping the dead ayakashi's blood out his face with the back of his clawed hand. He gave a brief glance backward at the two night-troopers he just saved before leaping away._

_Yet that one indifferent glance was all Sen needed to confirm his suspicions. It was now plainly obvious that in Gen's eyes the rest of the team were inferior to him in every aspect. There was no doubt in Sen's mind that Gen felt repulsed by them and considered them dead weight on his shoulders. That was probably the reason why Gen so badly wanted to go on solo missions._

_But fine! It wasn't like any of the other kids liked being around Gen in the first place so in a way he was basically doing them a favor by going solo. He could go be an asshole all by his lonesome self if that was what he wanted. Sen didn't care. That's why he didn't bother thanking the brunet for saving them back then._

_Gen didn't deserve gratitude._

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

"Hey why are you running all of the sudden?" questioned Sen as he followed Yoshimori who began dashing from roof to roof. When the Kekkaishi didn't answer Sen began to yell louder. "Hey! _Hey_! Answer me will ya! If you want to leave this dimension I assure you that you're not gonna do it by heading deeper into the castle!" he exclaimed.

"Don't plan on leaving yet" Yoshimori shot back as he kept his pace.

This made Sen blink. "What?" he asked not comprehending thus making Yoshimori skid to a stop before facing the blond.

"I'm looking for Kaguro" he stated determinedly. "And I'm not leaving until I pay him back for what he did to Shishio"

Sen stopped a few steps away from Yoshimori and crossed his arms while acquiring a contemplative look. "Kaguro…" he echoed, trying out the name. "He's an ayakashi, right?"

Upon the Sumimura Heir nodding, the wheels inside the night-trooper's head started turning rapidly until an idea began to formulate. If things played out well this could be the one opportunity Sen needed to prove that he wasn't a burden.

Convincing himself that it was worth giving it a shot, Sen turned around and walked to the edge of the roof. His eyes searched for the perfect hideout. "Then let me find him" he stated before jumping down to a balcony an entering its room. He didn't need to look back to know that the Kekkaishi followed.

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Yoshimori also curious about why the other teen chose to enter a vacant room. Sen smirked at this, feeling very pleased with having someone's attention on him as he went to explain his abilities in detail.

The blond explained how he had the ability to manipulate all five of his senses into tracking the auras of other living beings. The ayakashi-hybrid was particularly proud of this ability because it was the one area where he far exceeded Gen's capabilities. See Gen only had a superior sense of smell; but Sen could combine all five of his senses in a way that overlapped whatever Gen's nose could do and with an even farther reach.

In fact Sen was so caught up in bragging about his special abilities that he accidentally let slip the fact that he could push his skill far enough to read what people were thinking from their auras. Fortunately for Sen, Yoshimori didn't seem to pay any mind to his blunder.

Explanations over, Sen got down on one knee and started to concentrate, eager to demonstrate his ability. Based on Yoshimori's descriptions, the blond only focused on pinpointing powerful auras that exuded evil. By doing this he was able to identify about half a dozen energies but that wasn't enough. Sen needed more details on the ayakashi he was trying to locate. Anything from its height, shape or method of fighting would be useful. Voicing this to Kekkaishi, Yoshimori tried detailing how Kaguro moved until smacking himself in the head upon remembering that Kaguro had been wearing his human skin when Yoshimori last saw him.

Meaning his aura could not be traced.

"Damn it!" Sen shouted in indignation. "Just when I thought I might be useful!" he complained aloud, hating the fact that he felt incompetent once more before remembering that he wasn't alone in the room. Upon seeing Yoshimori's taken aback expression Sen regretted having lost his composure because if there was one thing he hated more than self-pity it was when other people pitied him. "What?" he snarled if only to stop the other teen from analyzing him.

"N-Nothing!" Yoshimori replied taking a step back and raising his hands in surrender to appease his current comrade. "Sorry for making you do all that for nothing" he apologized, "but I'll be fine on my own"

"Huh?" expressed Sen wrinkling his face incredulously. "You mean you're still going to try picking a fight on your own?"

"Well yeah, that was the plan" answered Yoshimori lost on what the big deal was. Yet to Sen _nothing_ could have sounded more ridiculous.

"Are you insane?" Sen questioned refusing to believe what he was hearing. "Didn't we already have a conversation of how pointless it is for you to try fighting someone even Gen couldn't take down?"

Yoshimori narrowed his eyes at that before replying. "I don't see anything pointless in wanting to avenge a friend"

"I get _friendship_" Sen shot back even though he didn't agree with that term being used to describe someone like Gen. "But you're taking this to a whole nother level!"

"What, what do you mean?"

Sen took a deep breath trying to compose himself, thinking that there still might be a chance to get through Yoshimori's thick skull and make him see reason. "Look, from what I heard your Grandfather lost a friend not long ago to the Kokubourou but you don't see him rampaging to his death in enemy territory"

"But that doesn't count anymore" the Kekkaishi hastily interjected. "Heisuke is alive. I just saw him a moment ago"

"And so is Gen and you knew that from the start!" countered Sen quickly losing it after getting interrupted. "Face it, you care way more than you should and your actions can't be justified. What you're doing is suicide and I refuse to take any part in it!"

The ayakashi-hybrid stood up and turned away about to leave it at that but then turned back because he felt that he hadn't finished saying his piece.

"And another thing! Do you think Gen is going to thank you for what you're doing? He never cared about anyone before so what makes you think he's going to start now?"

"You don't know that!" Yoshimori shouted back trying to shake the feeling of being cornered. He wasn't ready to have his volatile relationship with Gen questioned.

"Oh and you do?" Sen countered sarcastically. "News flash, I've known him for 4 years. That's way more than you have! If you don't believe me then answer me this. If he really cares then why isn't he here helping you huh?"

"S-Shut up!"

"Yeah that's what I thought!"

**x-x-** (Flashback #5) **-x-x**

_Sen wouldn't say that his life before the Night Troops was filled with hardships per se. It was mostly bland and monotonous really._

_His earliest memory only detailed his life at an Orphanage. Yes, as far as Sen could remember he had been an orphan. So technically since he never knew his parents, Sen hadn't particularly felt any heartache about losing them. And to be honest he never really thought about them much._

_What _did_ bother him though was the fact that he was constantly teased by his peers for being the only blond kid in the Orphanage. They even called his hair girly. Yet even back then Sen had the ability to make any kid cry with only a few choice words. At age six Sen had quite a vocabulary and was smart enough to use it in a way that wouldn't get him in trouble with the adults._

_Nevertheless this behavior didn't win him many friends. The fact that Sen naively confessed to being able to see things, like paranormal creatures that no one else could see, didn't help his situation either. The reputation he got as the 'coo coo bleach head' inadvertently harmed his chances at getting adopted in the long run._

_In short Sen was displeased with his circumstances yet it wasn't something he thought he couldn't handle. He only wished he didn't have to. Maybe start anew so that he could stop himself from blurting about his apparent 'sixth sense'. Maybe _that_ was the reason why when Kei Sazanami found him one day and proposed that Sen follow him to a place called the Shadow Organization, Sen didn't think twice about ditching his life at the Orphanage._

_As it turned out, Kei was actually a mind reader who recognized the same potential in Sen upon laying his eyes on him and wanted to take Sen as an apprentice. It was during these times that Sen first manifested signs of being an ayakashi-hybrid which only upped his appeal in Kei's eyes._

_By the time Sen turned nine of age, he, along with his sensei, joined a newly formed faction named the Night Troops. This was also the first time Sen had the opportunity to socialize with other gifted youngsters like him. Of course by this time Sen had gotten a whole lot better at figuring out how to make a great first impression and soon enough he made his first batch of friends._

_Among them he was closer with another ayakashi-hybrid that was only a year older than him named Shuu Akitsu. Shuu, comically enough, came from a clan governed by women; as in Shuu was a boy born in a Maiden Temple. For this reason Shuu couldn't earn the title of 'Heir' to his clan. Coincidentally that was the number one reason most everyone joined the Shadow Organization in the first place._

_Even so Shuu was pretty loved at his home and had a great relationship with his family whom often exchanged letters with him. However, as fate would have it, roughly a year ago Shuu not only showed signs of being an ayakashi-hybrid, but also fully transformed into something that only endangered the female specie. Hence the irony of him being housed in a temple full of maidens._

_Not surprisingly Shuu had to be exiled from his home until the day where he could successfully keep his bloodlust in check even while in his transformed state._

_And then came Gen._

_It would be a lie if Sen said that he hadn't been initially excited with the addition of Gen to the Night Troops. From what little the blond managed to gather about the other, Gen was a feral type ayakashi-hybrid much like Sen, had the same beastly eyes as Sen, shared the same birth year as Sen, and basically had no other place to go to._

_Those similarities between them made Sen conclude that they were meant to be friends. Sure, Sen got along with Shuu well enough. But the fact that Shuu came from a loving background, hence his ever cheery personality, did stirred a small amount of envy to be geared his way. With Gen however, who apparently was the most miserable of the three, Sen probably wouldn't have to worry about that little green monster._

_Unfortunately though, Gen hadn't been the easiest person to approach._

_For the first weeks of Gen's stay, he was basically unreachable. Apparently Atora had decided to keep Gen cooped up until he could learn to follow her orders. Unsurprisingly with Gen being a kid and not exactly one of her pet beasts, Atora was having a hell of a difficult time achieving her goal._

_Throughout those weeks all that could be heard whenever anyone walked near Atora's compound was her screaming commands and Gen loudly rebelling against her tactics. Every now and then Sen could feel an incredibly dark aura coming from the place that would banish almost as quickly as it came. Only later would Sen find out that it was caused by Gen losing control of his anger only to be immediately subdued by Hiba's poisoned thorns a second later._

_It was a known fact among the youngsters in the Night Troops that Gen was watched by four elder members of the Night Troops at all times; though most viewed it as Gen getting preferential treatment only because he was brought in by their Captain Masamori._

_None of them could understand why Gen was never around people from his age group and even began to form some biasness against him. Sen however stayed above it and would always stray toward Atora's place on a day to day basis for the chance of catching even a glimpse of Gen._

_Finally in one of those visits Sen stumbled upon Gen in a, well, peculiar manner. You see was Gen just so happened to be tied up upside-down on a tree branch with rope and a piece of paper taped to his forehead that read –__**punished**__–. Apparently this was Atora's choice method of rewarding his disobedience. Sen couldn't help cackling at the sight. Nevertheless the narrowed glare that Gen shot him was filled with so much venom that Sen instantly seized all laughter._

_The blond, though caught off guard by the shear intensity of the other's glare, was ready with an introductory speech that he had rehearse a handful of times for whenever this occasion happened. So wanting to look confident and not intimidated, Sen did not hesitate on delivering it word for word as he had practiced—beginning with the fact that he also was an ayakashi-hybrid._

_Regrettably that did not go over well. Back then Sen still hadn't a clue of the traumatizing events that led Gen to discover he was an ayakashi-hybrid so Sen did not factored in the extreme hatred the brunet harbored for such word. Needless to say that Gen blew up within half a second of the word being uttered and had to be brought in by two of Atora's beasts for more 'discipline'._

_At the time Sen was a tad shaken by the full blown antagonism that had been thrown his way. Despite that his mood quickly soured because of it. In his head, just because Gen was receiving special attention from the elder members of the Night Troops did not give him the right to look down on everybody else._

_Shaking his head Sen dismissed the idea because he didn't want to jump to early conclusions. Who knows? Maybe all he had to do was to wait until he could catch Gen on a better mood; preferably when Gen wasn't hanging upside-down by a rope._

_Yet this 'better mood' never came. Gen was always angry, always scowling, always unsociable and always alone. And Sen didn't want anything to do with that._

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

"I think we reached the lowest part of the castle now" Tokine commented as they arrived to what looked like dungeons. Gen, who up until this point had been trailing behind her, suddenly picked up his pace in an alarming manner.

"There!" Gen voiced as he entered one of the rooms before crouching down to lift some spider webs off the floor. "Sen was here" he informed before another scent hit his nose. "Yoshimori too"

Placing on hand above her chest, Tokine heave a sigh of relief. "Then that means they managed to escape somehow" she said, voicing what they both hoped to be true. She was about to suggest that they hurry out but stopped herself when she saw the condition her teammate was in.

Gen still laid crouched with his hand maintaining a firm, albeit shaky, grip on the webs; yet he had his eyes tightly shut and his jaw clenched as in trying to keep something in. He was even quacking in his posture though he did an impressive job trying to repress it.

If it wasn't because Tokine already knew about Gen's habit of being very guarded toward her she would have asked is something was wrong. Instead she let him quietly compose himself which didn't take very long to achieve. Even so it was long enough for her mind to start conjuring up reasons for his behavior.

When Gen got up to his feet he looked positively embarrassed when he caught on that Tokine had been watching him the whole time. He had barely managed to contain the immense wave of emotion that suddenly overcame him upon figuring out that Yoshimori still breathed somewhere around the castle; and now Gen feared he might had been too revealing in his actions.

So trying to make the moment less awkward for himself, Gen muttered something about tracking the scent and rushed past her and past multiple other rooms in the dungeon until reaching the end of the hall where the path split in two opposite directions.

As he waited there for Tokine to inevitably catch up to him, the ayakashi-hybrid tried distracting his thoughts by testing his limits now that he was alone. If anything at least he was provided with the perfect opportunity to test them without tipping Tokine on his handicap. With moderate concentration to ease the change, Gen focused on slowly transforming his hands into beast claws. Unfortunately he couldn't keep the small hiss from leaving his lips during the process.

'_Okay, so it didn't strain my muscles as much as I thought it would when transforming my arms_' Gen thought as he successfully kept his partial transformation intact. That was a good sign. However he wasn't sure by how much he could push it. Though before he had a chance to contemplate trying his luck with his legs he caught the sound of Tokine's footsteps steadily approaching him from behind.

The Yukimura took her time walking the rest of the way to stand beside the night-trooper. As she stood at Gen's left she quietly started scanning her surroundings and Gen got the impression that she was just stalling time as she waited for him to say something. Problem was he had no idea how to begin.

Apparently though he didn't have to as Tokine took the initiative.

"You care about what happens to them don't you?" she stated rather than asked as she kept her gaze away from him. She watched with the corner of her eye as Gen stiffened almost imperceptibly before grumpily muttering that he was just doing his job. She had to hold her smile because of the 'tough guy act' he used while answering reminded her of the one Yoshimori always tried to pull around her. Still, it would be nice if they could try to be real with her more often. "I consider you a friend Gen" she stated plainly, if not randomly, as she continued to pretend she wasn't giving him much attention.

"Y-You do?" he questioned as he stared at the side of her face apprehensively. '_Why is she bringing that up all of the sudden?_'

"Sure" answered Tokine easily as he turned her head to face the night-trooper. Suddenly feeling flustered, Gen swiftly turned his face away to avoid her gaze.

"…Then we're friends" Gen stated as nonchalantly as he could while trying to hide the way he was affected by how little he got to exchange similar words in his lifetime. The slight crack in his voice probably didn't help him though. Even so he couldn't exactly tell if what he was feeling was embarrassment, lightweightedness or anxiety. Maybe a mixture of all three?

"And friends tell each other what's really bothering them" continued Tokine as her eyes strayed toward Gen's claws with a curious arc of her eyebrow. The ayakashi-hybrid must have felt her gaze traveling because he immediately righted himself with both hands presses at either side of him.

'_Should've seen that one coming_' Gen grumbled to himself. It was only a matter of time before Tokine started to probe him for answers. He just hadn't expected such an underhanded tactic from her. Talk about a low blow. "Some friends need time" he finally replied, stressing the last word and probably sounding a little grumpier than was justified.

"So there _is_ something you need to talk about" she confirmed. She even sounded a little triumphant about it.

'_Damn it_' cursed Gen inwardly not believing how easily he fell into that one. Why was it that all big sisters had the ability to make their younger siblings 'fess up with little effort?

Gen's breath stilled when he caught his line of thought. One that didn't make any sense considering that Tokine was an only child to begin with. "…The scent leads this way" he answered instead as he took the path on the right.

A small frown decorated the female Kekkaishi's expression as she followed after her teammate. She was already aware of how irremediably introverted Gen was and how hard it was for him to open up. She was even starting to believe that maybe he simply didn't know how to. Regardless she couldn't shake this terrible foreboding feeling that she was missing out on something important. Tokine honestly did care for him as a friend and therefore wanted to help him.

She just hoped that whatever it was that he would be able to tell her before it was too late.

**x-x-** (Flashback #6) **-x-x**

"_Well would you look at that. The brat made it back alive after all!" Hiba exclaimed as Gen, bloodied as usual, limped his way toward the barracks after completing his latest solo mission. Unsurprisingly, from Hiba's tone as he made that exclamation, everyone could tell that he wasn't exactly overjoyed with Gen's survival._

_In fact he almost sounded disappointed with the fact._

_Sen, who happened to be walking past Hiba at that moment, involuntarily stopped on his tracks to follow Hiba's line of vision. Eyes landing on Gen's form in the distance, the blond couldn't keep from automatically glaring at his direction._

_Over the years Gen had simmered down and became more apathetic; unfeeling. He still had some anger issues that manifested themselves from time to time, but mostly he acted like nothing in the world mattered. Although Gen was no longer monitored and was allowed to mingle with the other teenagers, he never did. Instead Gen chose to stay out of everybody's way._

That_ was the one thing that stayed consistent about Gen. He was always alone. Always isolated. Preferred it even. Saying that Gen could not get along with anything that had a pulse was _not _an exaggeration. By now Sen had come to terms that Gen would never open up to anybody because he cared for no one. That was the one fact that would never change about Gen and it sickened Sen to watch._

_Sen couldn't exactly blame the other for his behavior since what else was someone who didn't fit in supposed to do? Sen just hated that someone like that who had no ambitions in life could outclassed him in every way with minimal effort. It wasn't fair that someone so undeserving was so gifted._

_To add insult to the injury, there were already talks about the Chief planning on hand-selecting Gen for an indefinite mission that entailed the protection of the Chief's birth land._

_No disrespect intended, but who the heck thought it'd be a good idea to send Gen on a mission that would require him to lead a normal school life and to cooperate with others? First of all Gen sucked at mingling with others, much less working with them. And secondly Gen couldn't even blend in with his own kind so how the hell did the Chief expect him to handle himself around normal people at a school?_

'_There _had_ to be better candidates! Heck even I could pull it off better than him!' Sen thought with disdain as Gen's form finally disappeared from his sight. The blond ayakashi-hybrid could only chalk it up to yet another example of Gen getting undeserved preferential treatment._

_Hiba, who had been watching with disguised curiosity at the way Sen's glare intensified the longer he held it, couldn't help but to smirk at this new prospect. Hiba was so intrigued that he decided to uncharacteristically impart some of his wisdom to his juniors._

_Who said that he couldn't be a nice guy every once in a while?_

"_Mindgames" he pronounced aloud to get the other's attention. "That's all you really need. You figure out what makes a guy tick. Once you know that, you can destroy them with minimal effort"_

_When Sen looked like he didn't have a clue, Hiba smirked and placed his good hand on the blond's shoulder. "You're a smart kid" he said as his way of explaining things. "If there ever comes a day where it's either you or him, remember what I told you and make sure that you're the one who comes back alive"_

_With that piece of advice out of the way Hiba left Sen to his own devices. Somehow, for some unknown reason, Sen's mind conjured up the memory of the time Gen told him that the 'job' was all he had to live for. The only thing he was good at. Kinda like his only reason to exist._

_Sen lips twisted at that memory, feeling like it left a bitter taste in his mouth. 'You're wrong Gen… even with your job you already are nothing'_

**x-x-** (Back to Reality) **-x-x**

'_Idiotic, careless, unwarranted, ludicrous! Of all the absurdities this one takes the cake!_'

That was only the most recent of the hundreds of thoughts that ran through Sen's head as he remembered Yoshimori's unreasonable actions. Right after Sen had exploded on the Kekkaishi; the Sumimura turned his back to the blond and exhaled. Then he calmly, as if their discussion had never happened, had the audacity to tell Sen to head home while they were still safe. He suggested that the night-trooper follow the fleeing ayakashi bugs without letting them notice for a way out.

As for Yoshimori? He set off on his own toward his own funeral.

'_Suicide. Suicide!_' screamed Sen inwardly as he dashed through the outdoor hallways taking the route opposite to the one taken by the Sumimura. '_Shit damn it!_' he cursed stopping on his tracks. If it wasn't for the fact that he felt like he had to repay the Kekkaishi for saving him, Sen would've already been out of here. That's why he hated owing someone. '_God! Why am I always stuck with the insane ones?_'

Just then the wall before him exploded and out of the dust and rubble stepped out two silhouettes.

"You!" Sen wheezed in shock as he recognized them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Personal business" replied Tokine ready to strike whoever came to oppose her until her eyes also lighted up in recognition. "You" she mouthed, eyes shifting everywhere but not finding who she was searching for. "Where's Yoshimori?" she finally asked.

"Answer my question first!" snapped Sen feeling slightly irritable. It was only his second encounter with the girl and yet again she was more concerned with looking for somebody other than the person standing in front of her.

Tokine blinked back at the tone used on her but decided to answer anyways. "Yoshimori came here on his own. We came here to bring the little dweeb back"

"Heh, so we agree that he's an idiot" said Sen backing off on his antagonism now that he was convinced of their shared perspectives. "But wait" he said suddenly looking bewildered. "You mean to tell me you guys came here alone? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?

"Of course we do" Tokine retorted. "That's why I know he needs our help"

"But what can _he_ do?" Sen countered, now pointing at Gen. "He's been banned from using his powers in battle for the risk of causing permanent damage to himself"

Tokine gasped in shock and turned toward her teammate. "Gen is that true?"

Gen predictably broke eye contact with his interrogator as he tried to sweat out an explanation. However at that very moment the sound of a building collapsing stole their attention and it was Sen who first spotted the source.

"Shit" stressed the blond night-trooper. "Looks like your stupid friend just found that Kaguro guy"

"Kaguro!" Tokine exclaimed in alarmed but Gen was already darting toward the collapsed building. "Gen wait!" she shouted, startling her teammate to a temporary stop just as he was going to leap over the ledge toward the next building.

"Listen to her you moron" Sen assisted. "What do you think you're going to accomplish by-"

"I don't understand, why did you hide it from me?" interjected Tokine, not letting Sen finish.

"That's, not important" replied Gen, remaining still even though he was ready to jump at any minute.

"How can that not be important?" scolded Tokine, one foot on dejected and the other on fuming. "We are friends aren't we?" she proclaimed choosing to ignore the 'tsk' she heard coming from Sen's direction. "That means that we are supposed to tru-"

"I lied!" shouted Gen interrupting her. The silence that followed was almost oppressive. "I… I don't think of you as a friend. At least not only as that" he muttered so low it could almost be considered a whisper. He was also avoiding her gaze at all cost like if his life depended on it. "To me, you're like a big sister… Tokine. One I'm grateful to have"

"Gen" she muttered but it was too late. He already leapt away. "That's the first time I ever heard him say my name" she commented, voicing her thoughts aloud.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Sen protested, trampling Tokine out of whatever funk she was in. "As rare as seeing Gen acting so meek was, that doesn't distract from the fact that he's practically running toward the same ayakashi that crippled him in the first place!" he shouted in aggravation.

"You're right" Tokine consented, getting battle ready. "I have to assist him"

"Assist him? Are you even listening to yourself?" Sen questioned while stamping his foot down. "I thought you were the rational one! What you're supposed to do is to stop him. And Yoshimori too. Stop them both and get them to escape like they should have done from the very beginning!"

"I can't do that" responded Tokine unyielding in her decision while doing her best to keep her nerves down as she prepared to march forward. "We are a team"

"Argh this crap again" he replied as he dragged both hands down his face in an exasperated manner. "He already _had_ teams before and he _never_ worked with them. What makes you guys think you're so different?"

Tokine glanced at Sen as she suddenly remembered what Shuu had told her about ayakashi-hybrids feeling like outcasts by nature. It seemed that Sen wasn't that much different from Gen after all. They were both incorrigibly insecure and always conflicted. It made her feel bad for Sen. But right now there was a hopelessly introverted ayakashi-hybrid whose solid walls were beginning to give away that needed her help more.

"I have no idea what it was like with you guys so I can't tell. All I know is that we won't ever leave him behind to fend for himself because that's what teammates do"

And with that she broke into a sprint, giving their conversation an abrupt end. Except it wasn't over for Sen.

'_What teammates do?_' he thought as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. He couldn't help being transported back to the time he and several of his friends in the Night Troops demanded to Vice-Chief Miki Hatori for Gen to be removed from their team because he was impossible to work with. This had happened during the middle of a mission they had all decided to abandon. Well, except for Gen. The blond remembered the brutal scolding they all got from her for leaving a team member alone to his fate.

It was like he was reliving it all over again.

Sen's psyche could no longer cope with all the flashbacks combined with all the back and forth turmoil he had recently been subjected too. He couldn't take it. All that he thought he knew; all his preconceived notions; why were all of them being shaken at the same time? '_I'm in the right aren't I? Course I am! I mean only I gave Gen the benefit of the doubt when everybody else was set on alienating him. I was the one who still spoke to him! I was the one who made an effort and came back empty-handed! Gen's the problem! Things just don't change overnight!'_

Legs quaking, Sen's knees buckled and they hit the ground quickly breaking his fall. His hands, his chest; heck his whole frame was shaking so hard that he couldn't keep it from visibly showing. He clutched his head in a tight grip, digging his fingers into his hair, completely aware that he was in the middle of a nervous breakdown yet knowing he could do nothing to stop it. All his thoughts now too focused on the two Kekkaishis.

'_I've known Gen longer. What the hell makes them feel so special? I know… they're insane, all of them. They have to be as crazy, if not even more crazy than Gen is to even attempt to pull this off! Why am I the only one who can see the mistake they're making?_'

"Why? Just why_?_" the night-trooper whimpered to himself, forehead now only inches from the ground as he desperately tried to stop the trembling. But just thinking of the illogical actions of the other three kept him in that emotional chokehold. This bringing him to the question he most wanted to ask. "Why… aren't they afraid to die?"

**~ 0~0~0~**

A swift blow aimed to disable Yoshimori of the use of his right hand was thwarted upon coming in contact with the dark energy engulfing the Kekkaishi's body; the end result being the sound of a sword's blade breaking in two.

"Ha! This black kekkai serves my body like a shield. Anything that touches it will be deflected" Yoshimori boasted with a victorious grin displaying in his lips. "Your sword is nothing to me. I call this move the Super-Strong-Demolishing-Kekkai!"

"How pathetic, your language level is abysmal" mocked Kaguro, no longer in his human skin, as he jumped away to create distance. "In the past I've witnessed a complete kekkai. One much darker than yours. Whoever stepped into its domain would be ripped to shreds immediately. That technique was called a Zekkai. Yours however," said Kaguro with an impossibly wide grin appearing on his face, "is incomplete and pales in comparison"

All the sudden Kaguro threw his remaining blade a Yoshimori in a surprise attack before summoning two extra swords and instantly shortening the distance between them with a frenzy of slashes. The ayakashi managed to push Yoshimori, following it up with a sword strike that managed to cut Yoshimori's left cheek.

Once the first drop of blood was drawn Kaguro stopped his attacks in order to ground his point further. "See? You're not steady enough and are weaken once distracted". He stated before pretending to lament. "I guess you're just half-hearted. No wonder you never did understood Shishio's feelings. You didn't understand his worries at all, did you?" he continued while amusedly noting the way the Kekkaishi's seemed paralyzed with the direction the conversation was taking. "Keh, I could see through him with one glance; because _he's similar to me_"

"Don't… Don't talk about Shishio" Yoshimori imposed forcefully between gritted teeth. The battle quickly turning into a whole new ball game.

Kaguro however couldn't help his smirk. '_A power increase due to his anger, interesting_' he thought, already deciding that he could work with that. "You too must feel it. The difference between you and the world. Because you're special. You give off a feeling that you don't belong; and they hate you for it. That's why I told your friend about a way to leave his struggles behind. To give up on a world that doesn't accept us and free himself. _Like I did_"

A diabolical grin spread on Kaguro's mummified features at the fun he was sure to have with his provocations. "But in the end he was a weak human" the ayakashi faux lamented in regards to Gen. "He couldn't let go of his humanity and died a meaningless death for a world that never wanted him." Then Kaguro's expression lightened as if a brilliant idea suddenly assaulted him. "You too feel stifled, don't you? Yes, you too have the right to make the decision that he couldn't. So what do you say? Want to be free?" he propositioned.

"Shut up!" Yoshimori shouted; his Zekkai flaring. Those two simple words saturated with so much venom. "I definitely refuse so stop talking like you know Gen at all 'cause you don't! I don't know what bullcrap you're trying to pull but you're wrong! In fact I think you have a mental problem so stop with this 'not belonging' business!"

Even though Yoshimori's power seemed to increase just as Kaguro had planned, the ayakashi had to admit he was left a little stumped with the words coming out of the Kekkaishi's mouth. "You really, don't know anything?" Kaguro questioned with mild intrigue. "A person with such great power. To the world you're a freak. Should you not feel like you don't fit in?"

"Nope!" Yoshimori declared confident in his answer. "And neither does Gen" he stated, thought about it, and then rectified it. "I mean if Gen did feel that way once, he, ah, he doesn't have to feel that way anymore" the Kekkaishi said, well, struggled saying. Suddenly he couldn't help feeling guilty for the way he had been acting around the other teen. Always keeping Gen no closer than arm's length lately.

The verbal battle suddenly turned from a rebuttal of Kaguro's words to a battle with himself to acknowledge his own feeli- stance toward his teammate. "I… Gen isn't weak. Weak are only the people who give up on humanity and themselves. Gen didn't. And guess what!" Yoshimori started more loudly. "Even if Gen was different he's a good person that cares underneath and I accept him for that! And, _he accepts me too._"

Yoshimori said that last part more to himself and felt comfortingly surprised with how much that little self-revelation assured him. He felt a surge of confidence that affirmed him that his convictions would not be shaken. "He has me, so I guess we _do_ fit together and that makes you wrong again Kaguro! It's you who's not strong at all so you have no right saying that Shishio is weak!"

'_Tch, so much for that_' Kaguro dismissed as he lost all humor. "Then watch yourself. I won't show mercy" he warned as he summoned another blade. "This sword is different from before. It has a high wield ability. It can cut everything, _and leave nothing_" he jeered as he leapt straightforward fully prepared to lay a lethal blow on the Kekkaishi. Yet just as Kaguro was ready to strike he suddenly had to somersault to the side in order to evade a claw that went directly to his midsection. "_You_" he muttered upon laying his eyes on someone who was supposed to already be dead by his own hands weeks ago.

"Gen!" Yoshimori called as he saw his teammate landing in front of him with both his hands and feet transformed.

"Well ain't this a touching reunion" said Kaguro as his eyes glinted with the prospect of further entertainment. "I don't suppose that means- Ah there she is" he stated with obvious amusement in his voice as he avoided the green kekkais that appeared out of nowhere. Yoshimori turned his head but couldn't spot Tokine.

"She'll help us from a safe distance by keeping him distracted" voiced Gen so that only Yoshimori could hear him. When he felt that Yoshimori was going to protest Gen took the vanguard while stating: "We'll fight it out. Together this time. Like a team"

Whatever argument Yoshimori had prepared died at his lips then. Instead only a smile that quickly turned into a smirk appeared there. "You're on!" exclaimed Yoshimori, inching his legs further apart in his fighter's stance and switching his casting hand to the left one. Now that he had both Gen and Tokine with him watching each other's back he felt like he could finally step up his game. "Let's show this loser what real strength is about!"

**~ 0~0~0~**

An all out battle broke instantly between Kaguro and the three defenders of Karasumori. However it quickly became evident that out of the three of them Kaguro only viewed Yoshimori as the real threat. And so it was on him that the bladed ayakashi focused most of his attacks on.

The other two defenders were aware of this fact also. Tokine, no matter how skilled and precise she was, didn't count with the kind of firepower to eliminate the enemy in one blast. Not to mention that Kaguro easily broke away of whatever kekkai she tried to encase part of him in. So instead she refocused her abilities on providing Gen with the footholds he needed to maintain the speed of his movements; and blocking, or attempting to deflect, any attacks aimed at Gen that got too close for comfort long enough for Gen to get out of the way.

Gen on the other hand never stopped aiming for an opening to claw his enemy into nonexistence. However the teen was well aware that at his current level chances of landing a blow that would significantly damage Kaguro were slim to none. Still he persisted because Gen knew that if he let up then Kaguro would no longer pay attention to him. And Gen _needed_ to do everything he could to keep Kaguro's focus away from Yoshimori.

The problem was that the recovering night-trooper was starting to fatigue. His stamina was steadily depleting and the once dull ache that ran across his transformed ligaments was evolving into an ever-present reminder of the painful strain he was subjecting his body to.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up without risking permanent damage. One thing was for sure though; full transformation was no longer an option in this battle.

Kaguro… well he was enjoying himself. Few could understand the thrill of having three different opposers viciously vying to do you in the way Kaguro did. And if he had some humanity left in him he was sure he would pity them for missing out on this adrenaline inducing experience.

For whenever Kaguro aimed at the Sumimura, he would only be able to get 2 or 3 blows in before he had to shoot away in order to evade a claw aimed at one of his vital points. Then Kaguro would try to unleash a fury of slashes on the surprisingly-alive-night-trooper which the teen managed to avoid with the help of some cleverly placed green kekkais—from the female Kekkaishi no doubt.

Of course while this went down Kaguro had to double-task by keeping himself light on his feet in order to sidestep any of Yoshimori's pesky attempts to trap him in one of his blue kekkais. And only when things got too risky did Kaguro jump back to square one by trying to make his blades cut through the Sumimura's dark Zekkai up until Gen decided to strike again.

And so the whole pattern restarted again like an endless cycle.

Unfortunately Kaguro was one who easily grew bored of repetition. Getting bored led him to distract himself with other things. _That's_ when he noticed the ever deteriorating speed in Gen's movements. The kid was tiring out. '_Keh, if the runt isn't willing to fully transform then might as well do him a service and put him out of his misery_'

With an unexpected twist of his body, Kaguro, instead leaping away from Yoshimori to avoid collision, turned to the opposite direction and landed as surprise kick to Gen's stomach sending the teen flying at rocket speed trough a tremendous distance.

Ignoring the panicked shouts from his target's comrades, Kaguro shot forward fully intent on reducing the numbers of the opposition. It was with a sadistic grin that he sped faster than the kekkais that tried to bind him toward the life that he should've ended over two weeks ago.

Gen was just recovering his bearings from where he landed beside a pillar that didn't give in to the unstoppable force that crashed against it like the other four pillars had done. It was with no small amount of gratitude that he thanked whatever constituted his body's durability against heavy impacts because otherwise that would had seriously fucking hurt.

Yet not a second after Gen managed to get his vision to stop spinning, he was met with the sight of Kaguro suddenly appearing in front of him with his two blades poised to attack. That sudden appearance triggered the memory of what had happened between them on that haunting night on Karasumori. And then the last thing that Gen needed in his current situation happened.

He froze. Just briefly, but it was all that was needed to seal his fate.

Until he got pushed out of the way by a yellow blur.

"Keh" spoke Kaguro sounding more entertained than disappointed. "Well weren't you a quick little fucker. Didn't notice you until after I swung" he said, almost temped to lick the blood of his sword before he had to back-flip out of the way as a number of green kekkais finally caught up to him. "We'll have to do this again sometime" he finished with a mock bow before dashing away.

Gen laid sprawl on the ground with a stunned expression on his face before what happened finally registered in his brain. Then all he felt was a certain panic rising in his chest as his gaze drifted to the one who had tackled him.

"S-S-Sen" he struggled to say, somehow unable to believe his eyes. No other muscle besides his tongue would respond to Gen's commands, still too stunned in horror to move.

"God! What's wrong with you!" the blond cursed as he pushed himself off of Gen's chest until he was no longer on top of him and sat down next to him. "Why the hell didn't you try to evade that!" he criticized, hissing as he clutched his right arm with his left hand.

Gen's eyes widened as he followed Sen's movements. Whatever force kept his muscles paralyzed was gone in an instant as he jerked into a standing position in alarm. "You're blee-"

"So what? Why do you care?" spat Sen interrupting the other teen while fixing him a glare. God, Gen looked to stumped that it almost made Sen's glare falter. So instead the blond night-trooper turned his face away. "Besides" he said at an angry yet lighter tone, "you have more important stuffs to worry about"

Gritting his teeth Sen tried to concentrate on something other than the sharp pain coming from his bleeding arm. He had gotten to where Gen was faster than the Kekkaishis could. Yet Sen hadn't been quick enough to both tackle the brunet out of the way and get himself out of harm's way as well. The end result being the sharp end of the enemy's blade slicing through his arm like it was made of butter.

And freaking damn did it hurt! Sen never imagined the pain would be so excruciating! But hell if he was going to show it! He rather die than show weakness in front of Gen. First dead than without dignity. If anything Sen at least found comfort in the fact that the cut wasn't deep enough to warrant the loss of his arm. No offense to Hiba intended.

"Listen" Sen started, squeezing his eyes shut to keep the pain from showing in his voice. "You gotta get to Yoshimori before that ayakashi does and get him to escape with you. Force him, carry him, heck knock him out if you have to! Just get him to go"

"But"

"I said listen!" Sen yelled, his voice cracking an octave higher as he caused the cut in his arm to sting. He continued at a more leveled tone. "I've been watching the fight and I noticed that for every sword that Yoshimori manages to break with his Zekkai, Kaguro pulls out a stronger one. Don't you get it; he's just playing with you! It won't be long before he pulls out one that can pierce through Yoshimori's defenses with little resistance. You need to go. Now"

"…Why did you save me?"

"What?" Sen asked, snapping his gaze back to Gen only to immediately regret it when he caught the lost look on the brunet's face. '_Stop looking at me like that. You don't get sympathy_'

"Why-"

"I don't know! I did it on a whim" '_Because I still owed you for saving me a year ago. Because Tokine said that's what teammates do. Because that's what Yoshimori would've done. Because maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought I did. What the hell is up with all these confusing thoughts? Get out of my head, I don't want you!_'

When Gen winced at Sen's tone the blond felt the need to bash his head against the closest wall he could find. But then Gen had the nerve to spare a hesitant glance at Sen's arm the blond wanted to lose it.

"I'll be fine, stop wasting time! With the way Kaguro just went after you it's clear that he's gonna get serious sooner rather than later. Whatever you do you can't let him land another blow on Yoshimori." '_Stop looking at me like you care! Stop feeling responsible for what I chose to do! Can't you see that I'm every bit as confused as you are?_' "Go!"

Gen nodded and Sen was finally able to tear his gaze away. Again Sen squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the other teen to leave, which he did. But not without shaking Sen's resolve one more time.

"Thank you"

A weird jolt ran through Sen's spine as he heard those words being muttered. Before he could recollect himself Gen was already gone.

"Not fair" Sen muttered with a curse, hating how the other had tried to be the bigger person. He also hated the sudden high that seemed to numb the pain in his arm. Most of all he hated the irrational exhilaration he felt upon his actions being acknowledged with a simple 'thank you' from Gen of all people.

Yet it was true. For the first time ever Sen had thrown himself in the face of danger without a plan or consideration to himself. Why had he done it he still didn't know. All he knew was that he never felt such a thrill in his life. '_How sick is that?_'

Being brave in the face of danger. Giving it your all to save someone's life. The immense relief that consumed you when your efforts were not in vain. The rush Sen felt from doing that overwhelmed him but at the same time was scary enough to make him not want to go through it again.

The experience came with a prize though. And that was an immeasurable amount of remorse because now he knew just how wrongly he had judged Gen in the past when Sen accused him of purposely waiting until the last minute to save them to make himself look cooler.

There's no timing that. You either rush with all your might toward someone or you arrive too late to make a difference. Sen had learned that now. He also learned that it had nothing to do with being suicidal and everything to do with not living to regret an action you did not take for being scared. Hiba was wrong. There was no -either him or Gen- in the equation. What mattered was that they _both_ survive.

Most of all Sen came to realize the terrible disservice he had done to Gen by not thanking him like he deserved to be thanked in the past. No matter how difficult and unapproachable Gen had been throughout the years, no one deserved to be treated that way.

"I'm sorry"

**~ 0~0~0~**

Gen sped, leaping on rooftops as he tried to reach his destination before Kaguro did. Kaguro himself didn't seem to be putting much effort into outpacing the night-trooper. In fact, as he busied himself with avoiding the never relenting green kekkais that tried to encase him, it became obvious that Gen gaining on him was precisely what Kaguro counted on.

Able to read his enemy's intentions and knowing that chances of staying alive were better if he stayed on the defensive, Gen stopped about 10 meters away from the ayakashi—in high alert for any suspicious movements.

"My" said Kaguro appraisingly, "I never took you as one for caution" he critiqued before grinning and pointing his blade in a skewed fashion to the right as he taunted. "But are you sure you're the one you should be worrying about?"

Gen's eyes carefully followed the direction the sword was pointing at; heart hammering erratically against his ribcage when he spotted Tokine in the far distance. Without further warning Kaguro shot toward her direction, grinning balefully when he felt the night-trooper giving chase.

'_Time to raise the stakes higher_' Kaguro thought as he threw with all the strength he could muster one of his blades, closely followed by the other, toward the girl. The swords narrowly missed their intended target but the force of the impact was strong enough to make the building Tokine was in collapse. Smoke and debris quickly blocked everything from sight but that didn't stop Kaguro from launching two extra blades toward the girl's direction before stopping.

Just as he expected, though admittedly disappointed that he was right, Gen rushed past him and into the smoke of the demolished building. '_Fool_' Kaguro chastised. '_Caring about someone else is what makes you weak. And you just made the largest mistake of them all_' he thought, no longer bothered that his plan worked.

Now that the two pawns were out of the picture, Kaguro could focus on teaching the biggest fool of them all—and admittedly the only one who still held his interest—a one-on-one lesson of what true power was really about.

Yoshimori stayed rooted in the very spot he had been for the majority of the battle. By now it was becoming more than clear that applying the same tactics all over again wasn't going to give him that extra edge he needed to take down Kaguro. So now the Kekkaishi refocused his energy on trying to expand the reach of his Zekkai. If only he could concentrate his anger enough he was sure he could charge his dark shield enough to cause some serious mayhem. A real game changer if he said so himself.

All he needed was a little more time to get it just right.

'_Shishio, Tokine; hold out a little longer. I'll join you soon_'

What he didn't expect was for Kaguro to suddenly appear in front of him, making Yoshimori inadvertently take a step back. His eyes automatically darted at every direction before gritting his teeth and snarling at Kaguro. "What have you done to my friends?"

"No no" Kaguro tooted, "the real question is what I'm about to do to you" he stated with a wicked grin as he summoned two more blades to his disposal. "You'll live to regret turning down my offer. Oh wait, that's right. _You won't_!"

And with that Kaguro dashed forward and landed two simultaneous blows on the Kekkaishi, eliciting a spark of fear in Yoshimori as the sharp blades seemed to chip away his Zekkai without breaking.

'_Crap, I still need more time_' Yoshimori thought as he tried to back away from the following strikes on his person while attempting to maintain his focus. He wasn't succeeding.

Kaguro kept his onslaught of slashes like it was nobody's business. As an expert swordmaster he moved in a way that never revealed where he was going to strike next until it was too late to avoid. It was easy to tell that Yoshimori hadn't mastered the art of the Zekkai to the point where he could equally distribute his power on every contour. It was only a matter of time until the teen slipped. And slipped he did.

The ayakashi managed to cut Yoshimori's right shoulder; but before Kaguro could deepen the extend of the damage, Yoshimori's Zekkai flared up and burned Kaguro's hand—making the ayakashi drop one of his swords in the process.

"Not bad" commented Kaguro as he jumped backwards before holding his remaining blade with both hands and flaring up his own dark energy, looking more serious than what's been seen of him before. Even his voice sounded more sinister. "But it ends now"

With that he shot forward and it didn't take a genius to realize that this was meant to be the finishing blow. It sure didn't take Yoshimori any to figure out that he was fucked unless he did something quick. So he shut his eyes tight and tried to squeeze out whatever power reserves he had to save his hide.

But it was too late. He heard the hurling sound of a sword piercing skin and awaited the pain that should follow, ready to face it head on. When he didn't immediately feel it he opened his eyes and froze.

"Well what do we have here, an encore performance!" Kaguro celebrated, attempting to push his weapon of choice further.

In front of him stood Gen, giving his back to Yoshimori as the night-trooper struggled to hold the sword in place by gripping part of its hilt with his shaking clawed hands. An agonized cry escaped his lips as his feet detransformed and the sword advanced further.

All Yoshimori could see was the bloodied sharp end of Kaguro's blade sticking out of Gen's lower back.

Gen had been stabbed through his stomach.

Breath came out slow as panic started to erupt in Yoshimori's own stomach and his mouth grew painfully dry because of the vile he was trying to keep down as he realized that Gen had taken the killing blow that was meant for him.

Kaguro was saying something else but Yoshimori could no longer concentrate to it. It was like all sound became muted with the exception of his own ragged breathing. His mind was no longer present in the now. Instead it was stuck in an endless recollection of the scene where Gen had been stabbed in front of Yoshimori's eyes that night in Karasumori. The night he almost lost him.

He remembered it all in high definition and in slow motion. The night where Yoshimori could do nothing but stand in the rear instead of being there with Gen front and center. The night where he just stood there too stunned to move as Gen lifelessly fell to the ground. That very night was replaying itself right in front of Yoshimori's eyes yet again. The only difference was that now they couldn't count on Karasumori to intervene like it had done last time.

The sound came back again when Kaguro, out of fighter's etiquette, asked Gen if he had any last words. That sentence alone made all of Yoshimori's nerves go haywire. Yet the Kekkaishi never got to hear Gen's answer because at that moment Yoshimori's senses went blank. He could remember flashbacking through every memory he ever shared with the taller teen in the expanse of 5 nanoseconds. The good, the bad and the ugly. But most of all he remembered feeling like his mind, heart and soul would not be able to take it if he lost Gen ever again.

Then all he saw was white.

**~ 0~0~0~**

"What's going on?" demanded Masamori. "Where's Yoshimori?"

"He's inside that white Zekkai!" shouted Sen pointing at the gigantic glowing white ord. His arm was bandaged with a makeshift tourniquet he made by slicing part of his long-sleeved shirt; and he was kneeling next to Tokine on an airborne kekkai she had created for the two of them. "He killed the enemy with it but now Gen is stuck inside with him!"

"What?" Masamori questioned in alarm. Anything within a Zekkai that wasn't the caster was supposed to disintegrate. How could anybody be inside one without harm coming to them?

"It's as he said" answered Tokine, trying not to sound as disheveled as she felt. "Until a moment ago we were still able to see them but the sphere's density did not stop increasing until they were no longer visible"

Masamori's brows knotted together as he ignored the questions directed at him of what should they do. Instead he tried to establish communication. "Gen, are you there? Can you hear me?" he questioned in a commanding voice. His effort was awarded.

"C-Chief is that you?" came Gen's voice sounding alarmed before quickly reverting to distressed. "Chief, what should I do? Yoshimori has a heartbeat but he's, he isn't breathing!"

'_Hmm, it would seem that Yoshimori overreached his boundaries and as a result I'm afraid he entered a state of shock… This concentration of energy, was casted by Yoshimori himself? How is it possible if he's not feeding from Karasumori? And why is it white?_' Masamori shook his head, mindful of their current predicament and choosing to ponder on those things later. Now he had to get them out before the whole dimension collapses.

"Alright listen up" started Masamori. "The fact that you can still hear my voice means that Yoshimori's Zekkai isn't completely sealed off. I'll try to negate it from the outside by using my Zekkai. Your mission is to find a way to wake Yoshimori out of his trance and do it quick. Understood?" he asked although he did not wait for an answer as seconds later he was already clashing his Zekkai against Yoshimori's.

Meanwhile on the inner side of the white sphere Gen was doing his best to fight off a mental breakdown. He had never lost it on the job and he wasn't about to do it now. But commanding him to do something about Yoshimori? What could Gen do when all he knew how to do was to destr-

'_No! That kind of thinking won't help me now_' Gen chided himself, clutching his bleeding side as he struggled to take the few extra steps he need to collapse on his knees next to Yoshimori's head. '_I have changed_' Gen reminded himself as he used the hand that wasn't clutching his side to once again check the Kekkaishi's pulse. '_Still there_' he thought before his vision swirled because of the lack of blood coursing through his system.

"Shit" Gen muttered as he tried to shake Yoshimori awake by his injured shoulder to get a reaction. There was none. But even though Gen was slowly losing consciousness he would not give up. Yoshimori had been the one that taught Gen that he wasn't a monster. '_If it wasn't for you I probably would have been dead by now._' "Y-You saved me" he whispered. "So please, let me save you"

**~ 0~0~0~**

Tokine stood there watching besides Sen fighting the urge to chew her nails. When Kaguro had attacked her, Tokine had sealed herself inside a kekkai to protect herself from the parts of the demolished building that crashed on top of her trying to trap her. Then, when she saw Gen rushing toward her, she realized it was all a ploy to separate them from Yoshimori and shouted at Gen to forget about her and help their other teammate out instead.

She could have not predicted things would turn out this way and she felt partly responsible for it. She didn't see what caused Yoshimori to create something like this but she knew it was up to her to fix it. Somehow.

The Yukimura looked at her right hand, wondering if there was something she could do. Technically phasing through someone else's kekkai wasn't unheard of, but it was a skill she had never practiced or used in any way or form. So she doubted she could manage to pull off something she just thought of in a spur of the moment. '_But Yoshimori and Gen wouldn't hesitate over something like this. They would just do it_'

So steeling her resolve, Tokine blocked out all who tried to protest against her and without giving it a second thought she jumped toward the white Zekkai with her right hand outstretched forward.

'_First I have to read the energy particles_' she instructed herself while closing her eyes to concentrate. The moment she felt her hand touching the sphere she moved on to phase two. '_Now feel the waves_'

Surprisingly she felt herself slipping through the barrier without much resistance and opened her eyes when she felt like she landed inside. Once she did she saw Yoshimori laying flat of his back just like she had seen him before but now with a twist. The twist being Gen laying sideways right beside the Sumimura but hovering over him. Although all reasoning told her to skid forward and make her presence known—they had no time to waste after all—she stayed rooted. Almost as if she knew she was invading someone else's intimacy.

And that's when she heard it. The confession that would forever changed the way she viewed things, and the words that helped her finally piece together what had been going under her nose all this time.

Gen had been trying all he could think of doing to wake Yoshimori up. From pounding on his chest to slapping his face but none of it seemed to work. What was worst was that Gen no longer had any strength to exert.

His fingers, his hands, his knees, his legs, his chest; heck everything about him was giving up on him. There was nothing holding him together but the person next to him. Gen let his hand rest on Yoshimori's left cheek, thumb brushing under the skin of his eye as it remained open and unfocused. Not able to take it anymore Gen rested his forehead against Yoshimori's and blinked—not letting his eyes reopen as he took in a shaky breath.

Was Gen ready for this? Was this it for him? Did he exist only to fail?

"Yoshimori" he whispered under his breath, feeling how the remains of his consciousness were leaving him. "You're the most important person in my life" he said chocking up. He never had been any good at expressing himself so it was difficult to force his feelings out in words. But for Yoshimori he had done many things he thought impossible to do and this was only another one of them. "I know you probably don't want to hear this from someone like me" he said, his voice already breaking in defeat. "Heck you'll probably be repulsed by this but, but. I… I-I love you. So please, just please…"

The last thing Gen felt before blacking out were arms wrapping around his neck and the pressure of a warm mouth against his own. And he could swear, just barely, that he felt that same mouth pronouncing his name.

**~ 0~0~0~**

They were already at the Sumimura Household when Yoshimori recovered consciousness. When the legitimate heir first opened his eyes he was initially confused by his surrounding until Toshimori whooped that he was finally awake closely followed by his grandfather scolding him for taking so damn long sleeping when apparently everybody else was already up and about. It was then that Yoshimori realized that he had been staring at the ceiling of his own room.

He sat up and immediately found his room being crowded by multiple members of the Night Troops, all cheering his return to the world of the living and bombarding him with eager questions of how he singlehandedly prompted the collapse of a four century old dimension.

Among them he recognized Shuu and Dai sitting the closest to him with Sen not far behind as he loudly corrected everyone about the improper use of the term 'singlehandedly'. He saw Tokine trying to appease his father as apparently he chose to jump up and down next to her the moment Yoshimori woke up. Lastly, standing far behind other night-troopers whose names Yoshimori couldn't remember, he spotted Gen at the doorway. He wore an open coat that revealed that his bare stomach was bandaged. Gen himself was looking fine in health—probably because he hadn't fully transformed this time around.

Unfortunately seeing him kick-started a heavy case of anxiety inside of Yoshimori and he quickly adverted his gaze; talking to the other night-troopers like he hadn't noticed Gen's presence at all. Refusing to acknowledge him even. He also pretended his insides didn't twist in unbearable pain when Gen retreated from the room.

Tokine had been watching the whole exchange with the corner of her eye. Ever since she saw what happened inside Yoshimori's Zekkai she had been heavily confused about which stance she should be taking. Because she did witness it. Everything from Gen's confession to how Yoshimori broke out of the trace by pulling Gen into him. She saw it all.

When Yoshimori's white Zekkai had started to sizzle out Tokine had automatically, but carefully, rolled Gen away from Yoshimori so the rescue team wouldn't find them in a compromising position. After that she had pushed all the worrying about what any of it meant to the back of her brain as she focused on the recovery of both of her teammates.

Out of the two of them Gen was worse for wear. Fortunately though, it seemed that the moderate use of his abilities had proven enough to trigger his abnormal fast healing once again. It only took some magical kanjis from Mr. Fumiya and white bandages to prevent further irritation and within the hour life came back to Gen's eyes.

As for Yoshimori, beside the shallow cut on his shoulder, it was a case of exhaustion simply because the teen didn't know his own limits. In retrospect Tokine was beginning to wonder if he even _had _limits. But now that they were both awake, and after witnessing the lack of acknowledgement between them that prompted Gen leaving with a crushed expression on his face; Tokine found herself surprised when the first sentiment she felt was utter disappointment in Yoshimori.

So walking up to him she only delivered a clear message that they "needed to talk" once everyone settled down before leaving the room as well. It wasn't until eight at night that Yoshimori showed up at the front gates of the Yukimura Residence. Tokine was already waiting for him with her back turned to him. Yoshimori had tried to immediately establish conversation but Tokine had shushed him, telling him that she was still in the process of collecting her thoughts.

They stayed quiet and motionless for what seemed like an eternity though it was really only 35 seconds before Tokine let out a long suffering sigh and spoke up. Blunt and direct to the point.

"He's in love with you, you know"

Consequently Yoshimori's immediate response to plead no contest "Wha- Who do you mean? I don't know-"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about" replied Tokine cutting through Yoshimori's stammering.

The Sumimura's shoulders sagged in resignation and exhaled his admission. "I know"

Nodding at this Tokine went to ask what she considered an appropriate following question. "Since when?"

This time around Yoshimori didn't bother to play dumb about the question. "I think ever since we started working as a team. But I didn't realize it until much later."

"That long huh?" Tokine muttered feeling slightly sympathetic at how despondent the boy she was interrogation sounded. Even so she needed to learn more in order to get to the bottom of this. "So what have you done about it?"

"Done about it?" Yoshimori sputtered sounding shocked to whatever she might be suggesting. "Nothing, I done nothing about it! That isn't exactly a situation I had pictured myself in ya know" answered the male Kekkaishi somehow feeling like he had to defend his honor in some way.

"Well according to what I saw earlier today, '_nothing_' doesn't really do it justice" she stated more to herself before sighing and tilting her head back to gaze at the stars. "Look, I probably have no say in this—and I know I shouldn't pretend to have any right on it either—but I'm going to anyways so I apologize in advance. It's just that, well, it might sound unorthodox for me to say this but if I was in your shoes and had someone be so devoted to me, well… I don't think I could so easily walk away from it without giving him a fair chance. Or at least I would end it quick. You know it's not exactly fair to keep leading someone on if you already know that you're never going to pick them"

"W-What are you talking about? You're already in that position!" Yoshimori exclaimed unable to stop himself. When Tokine turned to face with a shocked expression in tow it felt like every word dried up inside Yoshimori's throat. '_But this is it_' he told himself. There was no turning back. He was finally going to confess to her. "I ah- I mean I- in love- you see-" if only his voice didn't get progressively lowered when he was trying to get something so big off his chest. But before he could force himself to shout it he felt a hand land on top of his head and looked up to see Tokine standing in front of him with a gentle smile on her face.

"I know" she said making Yoshimori's eyes light up in hope. "But it isn't quite the same thing" she added.

"Wait, what?" Yoshimori asked in confusion.

Tokine just giggled at his response. "Silly, I know that you're devoted to me just the same way I'm devoted to you. I admit that we do make a great duo and all but that's because we've been each other best friends for the longest time, kinda like siblings. I actually wouldn't mind you calling me your big sister if it wasn't for the fact that our grandparents would freak out if you did. But that's not what I was talking about earlier. I meant if I had someone romantically interested in me Yoshimori. Don't confuse the two"

"But-"

"Don't worry Yoshimori, if it makes you feel better then I also think about you as a brother" she said with a small blush appearing on her cheeks as she had never vocalized such thoughts to him aloud before. But after everything they had gone through it felt nice to do so. "That's why I'm trying to look out for you okay? Know that whatever you decide to do, I'll have your back. Just promise me that you'll be fair to Gen in whatever you decide, okay?"

And with that she ruffled his hair one last time and headed back to her house, not without wishing Yoshimori a good night of course. Unknown to her she just finished smashing, breaking and bulldozing all the crushed pieces of Yoshimori's dreams with that 'siblings' statement. He dropped to his knees with his mouth agape, still unable to believe how easily he went from being sky high to wishing the ground would swallow him ten feet under.

'_She just- How could- Misinterpreted- Why couldn't I- Sister?_'

Even though Yoshimori's mind was having difficulty computing what just happened, one thing stood clear about everything else. His feelings were not reciprocated by Tokine; at least not in the way he would've liked.

Not able to stand being anywhere near the place where all his hopes came crashing down, he stood up and went for a long walk.

**~ 0~0~0~**

Yoshimori suddenly found himself in front of Gen Shishio's apartment. He would like to say that this was his intended destination from the very beginning but the reality of it was that he just walked aimlessly through the majority of it until he realized that he had been subconsciously circling the block next to Gen's apartment for the sixth time in a row now. Then the Sumimura exhaled in resignation and decided that since he was already there that he _might as well_ drop by and pay a visit. You know, to see how his teammate was holding up and stuff.

That had been about twenty minutes ago and yet, as he stood there outside of Gen's front door, he couldn't bring himself to ring the bell. '_Maybe he's already sleeping. It _would_ be kinda rude of me to wake him up if he's resting. Maybe I should just knock and see what happens. If he doesn't answer then I'll take that as my cue to go. Okay, let to this_'

And with that in mind Yoshimori raised his right hand and lightly knocked on the wooden door. Gently. Softly. Imperceptibly. And only once. Yet somehow he still found himself being yelled at for it.

"We don't want a newspaper subscription!" yelled a female voice from the inside.

Inevitably Yoshimori couldn't help himself from answering right back. "Does everyone in the Night Troops feel that strongly about it or is this some kind of code I'm not getting?" he deadpanned.

Just like that the door slammed open to reveal an overeager Atora. "Is that you Yoshimori?" she asked as she placed both hands at the back of his head and squished him against her chest. She deliberately overlooked how he was trying to push away from her in need of air and went on to express her joy. "It's so nice of you to pay us a visit. Did you bring any of your cakes this time around? Oh listen to me rambling on and on. Just must have come over to see Gen right? I'll go and get him" she said as she finally liberated Yoshimori from her grip and skipped inside.

Yoshimori was busy trying to bring back air into his lungs while he heard Atora drag a struggling Gen to the front door with her.

"Now now, don't struggle so much while you'll still in recovery. Don't want to cause any complications to your healing process now do we?" she scolded good-humoredly even though she was the one doing the manhandling. Once they arrived at the doorway Atora released Gen and turned back to Yoshimori, stamping her fist into the palm of her other hand as she remembered something.

"Oh that's right, I oughta go check on how my beasts are doing after last night's fight at Karasumori. I guess that with Yoshimori here to keep an eye on you now would be a good time as any. You two won't mind right? Oh what am I saying, of course you won't!" she exclaimed as she left. The extra bounce in her step being comparable to a mother who is relieved that her kid made a friend of the very first day of school. Somehow the sentiment didn't feel so misplaced.

The two teenagers watched in silence as Atora swiftly disappeared from sight, and they stayed quiet long after she did. It was starting to make Yoshimori feel uncomfortable so he slapped a smile on his face and turned toward the ayakashi-hybrid. "So, can I come in?" he asked. Gen stared him down for a minute before moving away from the door and walking further into the room. "I'll take that as a yes then" he said, chuckling nervously and closing the door behind him.

Gen had stopped in the middle of the room and Yoshimori stopped right behind him. The Kekkaishi still wasn't sure what he was doing here but he knew he needed to get something out of his chest. As Tokine had said it wasn't fair to leave Gen without a straight answer. Yoshimori just didn't know how to approach it so instead he talked about meager things. "So nice whether we're having"

"Is there something that you want?" Gen responded acidly making Yoshimori flinch. He guessed he deserved that. Yet strangely enough it also made Yoshimori smile reminiscently because this was the kind of dynamic he found himself familiar and oddly comfortable with.

"Heh heh, you always were a sharp one" Yoshimori stated as he walked to stand in front of Gen, placing both hands on the taller teen's shoulders to keep him there. They had been here plenty of times before and it always ended with at least one of them bolting. One didn't get to spend a lot of time with someone and not learn the quirks of their relationship. "Heh"

"What?" Gen asked roughly, though it didn't come out as believably this time around.

"Nothing, it's just that I said the word relationship in my head and it didn't spook me"

The night-trooper said nothing but even so Yoshimori could feel with the palms of his hands the tension that was seeping out of Gen's skin through the fabric of his shirt. Yoshimori could tell that he was making the other teen nervous. And that in turn made Yoshimori start to feel nervous as well. And so, he began to speak in circles. Eyes looking everywhere but straight ahead.

"Ahem, there's something I wanted to ask ya. You see back at the Kokubourou- I don't exactly remember what happened in the end. Sen tells me I did something white or something. Guess I was lost in a trance. But I do remember, or I think I remember that you did something to get me out of it and- I don't really know exactly but could you- Do you think that maybe you could, ah, you know, do it again to help me remember better?"

The last part of Yoshimori's sentence came out as a low murmur but Gen still heard it. But was the shorter teen really asking what Gen thought he was? When you gotten used to rejection and to the constant feeling of not ever being good enough for anybody like Gen had, hoping to have a good thing can be hard. Even the smallest of things could freak you out. And Gen seriously didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing. And yet he still had to ask. "A-Are you sure?"

Yoshimori felt like that was a loaded question. Was he sure of what he was asking? Up until now he had always felt certain about Tokine and confused about Gen. Now not even that held true. But was he willing to find the answer? "Yeah" he nodded though not sounding particularly sure of himself. "So could you, please remind me, please?"

Just like that, with only a slight moment of wavering, Gen leaned his head down and captured Yoshimori's lips in a desperate kiss. The Kekkaishi froze yet slowly responded; though he did pull away the moment he felt the other's tongue brush against his. The Sumimura bowed his head on Gen's shoulder, letting out a nervous laugh as he shuddered.

"Heh… that actually felt right" he confessed causing the ayakashi-hybrid to also pull away slightly as Yoshimori lifted his head again, smiling awkwardly when his eyes locked with Gen's once more. "Guess I wanted it more than I thought I did"

Unable to contain himself, nor the way his heart fluttered, Gen pulled Yoshimori closer and gave him a bone crushing hug—burying his head between Yoshimori's neck and shoulder. The Sumimura hugged back with all his might and felt his vision starting to blur with the unshed tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes. But it was okay because he already felt a distinctive wetness pressed against the side of his neck.

They stayed like that in silence for short while longer, with Yoshimori's hands soothingly roaming the planes of Gen's upper back and Gen holding Yoshimori for dear life tighter against him. Who would have thought that something like this could have felt so perfect?

Not wanting to break the spell they were in yet knowing that his mind wouldn't be put to rest until he removed all uncertainties from himself; Yoshimori pulled himself away from the embrace and moved both his hands to cup Gen's face in order to make their eyes meet one more time. The night-trooper kept his hands on the Kekkaishi's hips but hesitated before meeting Yoshimori's gaze head on.

And that's when the answer Yoshimori had been waiting for shot through him like a bullet to the skull.

By the darkened lids under Gen's redden eyes, by the tight line his lips had become, by the way his breath was obviously caught in his throat, and by the way he tried to hold his gaze steady even though the rest of his body was practically shaking. Everything about Gen nonverbally screamed just how much he wanted to be with Yoshimori and it made the Kekkaishi's chest ached when being affronted with such unguarded emotions. Gen literally had no more barriers to defend himself with.

It was then that the Sumimura became aware that the other teen had long ago placed his heart in Yoshimori's hands, and that it was up to him to take care of it. And although no more words were needed to convey what was happening between them, Yoshimori couldn't keep it in. Even if he knew that his voice would crack in the end.

"I, I guess this means I love you too"

With the way his mouth was immediately assaulted by the time the last word escaped his lips, Yoshimori was reassured that he would never have to worry about his feelings not being reciprocated by the taller teen. Only then did Yoshimori finally let himself cry about everything he had been put through in these last couple of weeks.

**~ 0~0~0~**

**A/N:** Woo (swipes sweat from forehead), that will do for now. Hope it wasn't _too_ fast-paced. Only one more chapter to go! In the next chapter (which is also the epilogue) I'll tie all the loose ends and plot-holes that I might have left behind. Yes, that includes everything from what's happening with their classmates to the letters that Masamori never gave to Gen. I'll also provide some more fun and surprises.

And yes, _there will be smut_. And yes, it's the GenYoshi kind which shouldn't be a surprise since all my other stories are known for including sexy times in their epilogue. So if that offends you then consider this the last chapter. If not then be sure that I'll be putting the M-Rated tag to good use. (The kind of use that Madarao would surely approve of).


End file.
